Star of The Speedzone
by MewStar0013
Summary: Fem!Takumi and others. What kind of skill comes from delivering tofu? What skills lie within Takimi Fujiwara, a rookie who stands among the best Of racers? As she starts out from the bottom and catches the eyes of the infamous Takahashi Brothers, will they be able to bring out the true potential within her? And will Takimi want to see who her true self is? Fem!TakumixKeisuke (Main)
1. Race 1

**_Star of The Speedzone_**

 **So after wracking this idea through my head one-too many times, I decided to get back on board on fanfiction with this because I want to experiment with it and see how far I can go with it ^^ So I warmly thank all of you who decided to check out this fanfiction and I do hope you enjoy it. Well, since you read the summary already, you already know what you're getting yourself into so let's get this** ** _chapter_** **rolling!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the rights over** ** _Initial D_** **. All rights go to Shuichi Shigeno.**

 _ **Race 1: Teddybears, Talent, and Tofu**_

* * *

 _ **(-)(-)(-)**_ _Five-six years ago_ _ **(-)(-)(-)**_

 _"More."_

 _"I think you had enough."_

 _"More."_

 _"You promised this was your last one."_

 _"More."_

 _"Dad."_

 _"More… Now."_

 _Giving a tiny sigh, the teenager stood up from her spot on the stoop, took the bottle, and headed into the small confines that was hers and her father's apartment, the two-bed room abode nestled just on the top of the tofu shop her father had run for as long as she remembered. Takimi, as her father's first and only child, never understood why her father sold something he said he didn't like. The usual answer she got, if she were lucky, was a dry hum or, 'Grown-ups like to do what they hate.' She still didn't get it back then._

 _Maneuvering herself into the crawl space of their kitchen, she went to the sink and washed out the empty sake bottle Bunta had handed her. Simplistic, but that was her father. Straight-faced, stoic, and the owner of a cold shoulder similar to a mountain top. But he did love his sake. He said it made him feel better. Takimi thought it made him worse. After she washed out the remnants, she filled it with water and trotted back to small, flat porch. This would be enough to flush out the alcohol in Bunta's bloodstream and have him ready for work soon. He'd loose more customers if he was shit-faced while delivering tofu._

 _"Dad, I-" The honey-brunette stopped as she saw her father slumped against a wall, snoozing away with snores erupting from his chest. Great. That was just perfect. Now there were two reasons why her father couldn't go to work. Once the tofu shop owner was knocked out by the booze, it was downhill from there._

 _"Dad," She placed the bottle down and patted the old man's face a few times, only to get a grumble in return. "Dad, you got deliveries to make. Time to wake up."_

 _"You do it."_

 _Takimi was sure she didn't hear him right. "Dad, I'm serious-"_

 _"You do it."_

 _"Dad, I'm thirteen-"_

 _"Do it and I'll buy you that teddy bear you wanted for Christmas."_

 _"I asked for that when I was five-"_

 _A snore was the rebuttal. Bunta was out like a light._

 _Heaving another sigh, Takimi weighed in her options; Complete the job and get money, or get caught and possibly face juvenile hall and child services. The latter did sound scary, but the first option appealed to her favor. She could make the deliveries if she wanted own little part of Akina was connected to these series of roads that scattered around the mountain like a game of Chutes and Ladders. She had taken a look of a map of this place a few times and had them memorized like the back of her hand. Or at least, the routes her father usually took to make his deliveries. Up until the fourth grade, Bunta bought her along on his deliveries. That is until the school board had insisted (or threatened, as Takimi had heard from all the yelling) that she'd start school soon. Not wanting to deal with persistent nagging, Bunta agreed and enrolled Takimi._

 _Driving was a different story._

 _Her father had plopped her right at the steering wheel one fine night about a year ago, another of his sake nights to be exact, probably to get something of a reaction from his Plain-Jane daughter. But the only reaction he got was his own when Takimi drove right out of the driveway and crept down the mountain like it was nothing. He should have expected it, considering that she occupied the front seat of his car for the first few years of her life. She may have looked a little lost as he drove, but those cow-like eyes were trained on his hands and feet, watching every jerk and push. Every breath that Bunta took, a rove of his eyes, and the way his teeth clicked when they gritted in frustration because of a close second turn, his daughter absorbed all of it like a sponge. Taking that drive felt like something of a memory to Takimi. But they never did discuss that night afterwards. Takimi would have, even if she wasn't into cars that much. At least they would have an actual conversation that way._

 _Making up her mind, the brunette went back to the house and returned with her father's car keys, his work jacket, a list of the deliveries, money for change, and a throw from the couch. She threw the patched quilt over Bunta, hesitating before leaning down and placing a kiss on the old man's cheek. It twitched in response._

 _"Be back soon, dad." She whispered as she headed down the steps whilst slipping on the jacket. Her hands barely made it past the sleeves. Once she found herself in the garage next to the shop, she slipped into her father's car and counted all the boxes of tofu her father had packed earlier. At least he had managed to get this done before he commenced another night of binge drinking._

 _That made Takimi frown as she started up the car. Her father wasn't always like this; a bottle of sake at his hip and a snap of his fingers ready to send his daughter off for another round. When he was sober, he was responsible and hard-working, even though he didn't look it, and he'd occasionally check up on Takimi to make sure that she was at least breathing. He wasn't a terrible father; he just wasn't prepared to become a single one when Takimi's mother was no longer with them._

 _Shaking her head and blinking her light, brown eyes in the rearview mirror, the teenager drove right out of the garage and crept down the mountain, taking a deep breath and beginning her drive._

* * *

 _She was exhausted when she made it back. The car was nearly out of gas, but Takimi had managed to finish up all the deliveries just before the tank ran out. The deliveries and ride themselves were a piece of cake, too. Customers believed her when she said her father was watching the car while she made the delivery at the door and no cops thought to patrol the curvy roads of Akina for sleepy-eyed children delivering tofu. The small stacks of yen that filled her pockets were a nice touch, too._

 _"Takimi?" All color drained her face as the young girl spun around and spotted their landlord jogging over to her with a mug of milk in hand. "Just what on earth are you doing here? Does your father know you're out here?"_

 _"Yes," The lie passed right through her teeth. "He does. He sent me here to retrieve the money and receipts from his last deliveries." She pulled out the money and receipts as proof and showed them, baring a tiny smile that she was able to muster._

 _The landlord looked a little unconvinced. Takimi was thirteen, after all. 4:00 am in the morning was not the time a girl her age should be up. But after a while, he patted her head meaningfully. "Alright, just head on upstairs if you're done, OK? Have a good night." He left while taking a sip of his mug, the young girl taking the other set of stairs to charge up the steps and slip right into their apartment. Thankfully, it looked like one of their neighbors had been kind enough to help Bunta back inside, since the old man laid sprawled on the couch, snoring. Keeping quiet, his daughter placed the money and receipts in the little metal safe her father kept hidden in the floorboards and she hurried to her room, changing into her pajamas and crawling right into her bed. She fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow, her hands still feeling the trembling breath of the car she bought to life._

* * *

 _ **(-)(-)(-)** Present **(-)(-)(-)**_

"Ahhh! It's too windy up here!"

"Then let's go inside! Geez, it was your fault for wanting to come up here!"

Takimi would have came out here even if it were pouring. The school roof was secluded and quiet enough, for the most part, for her to find a corner to sleep in. She didn't mind the wind since her hair was held in a ponytail and her uniform jacket made a great blanket. It was away from most of the other students, another bonus since she couldn't sleep with such bird-like chatter. It was a special spot away from the world, and it was Takimi's favorite spot to catch up on the few hours of sleep she missed because of work.

"Yo, Takimi!"

Well, for the most part, anyway.

"Morning, Itsuki." Yawned the eighteen-year-old, stretching her arms over her head. She almost jumped when something papery lightly smacked her nose. "Ow. This month's issue the Daily Drift just came in?" Her lips rubbed against the glossy cover as she spoke.

"Damn right!" The pudgy teen squatted right next to his childhood friend with a grin, shaking the article in front of her. "And you'll never guess what my master plan is!"

Takimi opened her eyes and looked at the face of Itsuki Takeuchi. How she ended up with such a loud-mouth, ball of energy such as this young man had baffled the quiet girl, as well as the rest of the student body. It was as if fate, as Itsuki put it, had brought them together. Takimi could only recall a heavy-breathing eight-year-old trying to steal her froggy umbrella in the fourth grade and that had somehow spun their friendship together. Despite this, the two of them had stuck together like glue since then. Maybe it was because the both of them were opposites and outcasts. Two peas in a pod.

"Takimi!"

The latter snapped out of her musings, something about, 'one of the most greatest things ever!' flying right out of her other ear. "I'm listening, I'm listening. Mind repeating it with more feeling, though?"

Itsuki sighed. "You're hopeless," But he still held out his copy of the Daily Drift, a flashy but old car printed right across the page. "See this?"

"Yeah, Itsuki. I'm tired, not blind." A glare was sent her way.

"I'm serious here! Look, if there are any cars worth getting these days, then an 86 is my best luck! It's no S-13 like Inari's, but it's something!" Defended her friend.

"Do you have enough saved up to buy it, though?" Asked Takimi. A deflated Itsuki was her answer. "Guess not."

"You know, if you really wanted to prove that you were my friend, you'd help me pay for the car," Itsuki nudged her impishly in the ribs."Then Inari would ask us to join her team!"

"Don't drag me into your fantasy." Huffed the brown-eyed girl, leaning away from the persistent nudging. "Besides, I thought Inari said she was looking for more experienced racers to join her." There wasn't a day that went by when her superior and best friend chatted together at work about racing, Inari's team, the Akina SpeedStars,the hot topic of these convos. Due to being a small band of racers, Inari had been going around the local areas to look for a new racer to help the team move up in the ranks. Itsuki eagerly listened on while Takimi made sure to steer clear of those conversations as much as possible. She already had her hands full with her own driving. Anything about cars that was not about delivering tofu just flew over her head.

"She said that she could _teach_ anyone with a car!" Itsuki pointed out with a wagging finger. "And that anyone is going to be me! I just need a car and your help, Takimi! C'mon! Can't you loan me some money you have saved from the station, or the diner, even?" Unlike him, Takimi worked two separate jobs; one on the usual weekdays and one she did two times a week. There was surely a chance she could spare some. But this was Takimi Fujiwara he was begging. The chances were very slim.

"You know my old man takes half of that for our rent and utilities, right?" Along with tofu ingredients and cigarettes, but she wouldn't bring that up. "Just keep saving up on your own. How much do you have so far?" She asked.

"Like, 50,000 yen."

Takimi patted his shoulder. "Hang in there, buddy." At least she felt a little sorry for him.

"Thanks." Her heavy friend sighed, but it looked like his spirits perked up in surprise as a bright, red book was held right out to Takimi.

"Takimi, you forgot your Social Studies book in our last class."

"Oh," Takimi took the book and blinked at the smiling brunette before her. That smile could charm the most feral of animals. "Thanks, Natsuki. You didn't have to, though."

"I wanted to," The young girl was walking out of there as fast as she came. "Consider it thanks for helping me out in class! Talk to you later!" She said as she left. Takimi didn't get the chance to return the farewell as an excited Itsuki pulled her aside.

"Dude, introduce me to my future soul-mate."

"Drop dead." Takimi was saving him the trouble. She had only known Natsuki Mogi for a year or so in the drama club they participated in and they had lost all contact together for another. Sure she was sweet and cute, but that was all the young girl could gather. Beauty was only skin deep and Natsuki didn't look interested in high school boys, as far as what Takimi could get from meeting her a few times. She didn't want her friend to get disappointed or hurt, and she definitely did not want to be the one picking up the pieces afterwards.

"Oh, come on!" She ignored him completely as she began to walk away. "First the car, now my future dream girl?! What else are you gonna keep away from me?! Takimi!" He shouted as he chased after her. Even after a little incident like that, their friendship would be patched up in a heartbeat.

* * *

 **(-)(-)(-)** _Five-six years_ _ago **(-)(-)(-)**_

 _"Hello? Fujiwara Tofu Shop. If it's not our tofu, it's no good. Owner speaking."_

 _'Keep talking like that and the other tofu shops will come and get you, Bunta!' Laughed the other person on the phone._

 _"What other tofu shops?"_

 _'Good point. I think you're the only shop that sells just pure tofu.' The voice chuckled again. 'That aside, I just wanted to call and say thanks for delivering last night's order. My guests couldn't get enough of this stuff.'_

 _Bunta blinked once, a cigarette posed at the corner of his lips. He knew for a fact that he hadn't had a bottle this morning or even one perched on the counter right in front of him. So alcohol wasn't playing a joke on him at the moment. "What are you talking about?"_

 _'I meant the deliveries you made with your little girl last night. You know, I haven't seen you bring her on deliveries ever since she was small, before she started school. Seeing those big, brown eyes again with your jacket wrapped around her,' The hotel owner sighed nostalgically. 'Reminded me of Kaname. Takimi's growing into a lovely lady, just like her mother. You ought to be proud of her, Bunta.'_

 _Takimi hadn't touched a steering wheel since last year. Bunta knew this, he had placed her there himself as part of a joke. When he had saw her drive that night, he was actually surprised. She had skill. She could reverse, start, drive, and park perfectly without missing a beat. She wasn't even shaken when she stepped out of the car. 'Lets get to bed, dad,' She had said that day. 'You'll start sweating sake if you stay up too late.' They didn't discuss that day since then, mainly because Bunta was still too dumbfounded to bring it up._

 _Skills were not genetic. So why did Takimi drive as perfectly as he did that day?_

 _The tofu shop owner looked over to the front door as it gave a chime. Takimi merely gave him a wave while Itsuki chatted up a storm behind her, the both of them heading to the living room to work on some school work. Now that he looked at her, she did look more tired than usual._

 _"Yeah," Agreed Bunta as he rattled his car keys in his grip. "I'm feeling something of her right now."_

* * *

 _ **(-)(-)(-)** Present **(-)(-)(-)**_

Takimi waved to the last customer as he pulled right out of the gas station. The old station rested just at the root of the mountain and town below. People passing through here would stop by for some gas or rest and they'd stay to get the satisfaction of how quiet it was, minus Itsuki's bursts of occasional excitement. Takimi liked it for those reasons, too. Maybe that was why her childhood friend didn't have to beg her to apply when a job position was open.

At first, there were doubts from management about hiring her. The owner wasn't sexist, he was just worried that the work would be overwhelming for a high school girl. Some heavy labor and late-night shifts came along with the job. But Inari kept badgering him to give Takimi a chance, and since he did not want to argue with his daughter, he gave Takimi a uniform and now a few months later, his doubts were erased. Takimi picked up the pace as good as any other servicemen. She was a hard worker.

The boss himself, Yuichi Tachibana, picked up the work phone that same afternoon and was surprised to hear the caller.

"Takimi! Phone call, it's your dad!"

Takimi and Itsuki looked at each other in surprise. Bunta rarely called his daughter from work. Did something happen? Either way, Takimi jogged over there as fast as possible. The sooner she did, the sooner she could get away from Itsuki and Inari chatting about the 86. It was starting to get annoying.

"Yeah?" She asked as she took the phone, thanking Yuichi before taking off her work cap, wiping sweat off her forehead.

 _'I need you to handle an early delivery due in an hour. Come back to the shop, get changed, and take the order to the Daisukon Hotel near Lake Akina.'_

"Hotel Daisukon?" Forget her dad not saying please (blunt commands were a daily thing from him), but did her father actually ask her to go to the most beautiful and ritziest hotel in Akina? "They're ordering from _us_?" They usually went for places with a meat variety.

 _'Guests they're working with are health nuts,'_ Father and daughter winced at the same time. _'Just get back here. Yuichi already knows you have to come back. The owner already wired the money so come back right now. And this doesn't mean you can start work later tonight.'_

"Not like you let me do that before," Replied Takimi, biteless. It was the truth but she didn't get mad at Bunta because of it. She was just so used to her father talking to her as an employee rather than his child. That didn't make Bunta a bad parent, though. With no wife, no family members in the area, little to no experience in raising a child, Takimi could find no way to blame her father for how he acted. That's just how things were and she was fine with it. Besides, they were hardly alike in any way.

Oh yes, Takimi had heard the stories from Yuichi. On slow days he would reminisce on how her father was something of a wild card when he was younger. A high-school drop-out with a thug's fist, that was how her boss explained it. Takimi would have never guessed it, had it not been from the faint scars she caught on Bunta's hands while he was fixing up tofu. They were from all the fights he had gotten into, she assumed. He probably mellowed out when he met Takimi's mother, Kaname, but that was another story, as Yuichi put it. He did add that her mother was different from Bunta (He'd never go into detail with that) yet they fell in love within a month. He jokingly stated that Takimi acted like her mother and maybe that was why she and Bunta were so close, yet so apart. The brunette couldn't help but agree.

The both of them were like opposite sides of magnets; they could be close but never connect. "Alright, be there in ten." She said as she hung up and changed in the workroom, heading outside. "Gotta go. Old man needs me at the shop."

"Good luck packing tofu," Said Inari with a smile. She was older than Takimi and Itsuki, but she treated them both well. She was also Yuichi's daughter, but that didn't give the high schoolers any privileges, much to the boy's chagrin. "You still want me to pick you and Itsuki up by the bus stop for tonight?"

"Hell yeah!" Takimi yelped when her friend appeared. He was faster than he looked. "There's no way we're going to miss you and the SpeedStars' practice! We'll be there! The _both_ of us!" He squeezed Takimi's shoulders when she rolled her eyes.

"Alright," Laughed Inari as Takimi managed to wiggle away from Itsuki and jogged away. "Later, Takimi!"

"Don't be late!" Itsuki shouted after her. "This is a once-in-a-life-time opportunity!"

* * *

"But, boys, this is a once-in-a-life-time opportunity! Satoshi, tell them! Tell them these girls are nice!"

The man stood in-between his sons and patted their shoulders. "Boys, these girls are nice."

"I think that's been established already, father." Replied his eldest.

"And pretty!"

"They're pretty as well, boys."

"Heard that loud and clear, dad." Said his younger son with a laugh.

Pushing aside her husband, Mizuki Takahashi wiggled her manicured finger at her two sons. "Either you two meet these girls or so help me-"

"Mizuki-" Satoshi started, but his wife was having none of it.

"I'm serious! It's time the both of you settle down and start finding someone to start your lives with!" She argued.

"Mother, with all due respect, Keisuke and I are far too busy for this sort of thing." Defended the oldest son.

"Yeah," The younger brother, Keisuke, agreed without missing a beat. "We're too busy for that kind of stuff, mom. Cut us some slack, we're still young." The both of them knew that she meant well, but they just wish she'd see that marriage wasn't in their sights at the moment. If anything, a long path of black asphalt with nothing but the stench of oil and burning engines was all they wanted at the moment.

"Which is exactly why I insist you two find yourselves some girls now," Their mother sighed, pacing in the boys' hotel room. Both brothers and Satoshi worried that she might trip in her own heels. Fortunately to prevent this and to save his boys from more grief, Satoshi stepped in.

"Honey, we'll be late for the cocktail party downstairs. You still need to find your red dress, yes?"

"Ah!" Mizuki nodded, looking back at her sons fixedly. "This discussion is not over." She warned before she hurried out. Satoshi sent a kinder look before following her out. The minute the door closed, Keisuke made a grab for his jacket.

"And where are you running off to?" Asked his brother.

"I'm not gonna stick here just so she can drag me to that party to meet her friend's daughters. I'm calling the guys up and heading for a drive." He searched around for his keys. "Don't even try to stop me, Ryosuke."

He caught his keys just as Ryosuke tossed them, a smile playing in his dark eyes.

"Who said anything about stopping you?"

* * *

 _'This place is even bigger on the inside.'_ Takimi thought as she pushed along the cart of tofu for the party they were hosting at the hotel. She had delivered tofu to hotels before, but since this was the most successful in Akina, it was definitely the most impressive one she'd seen. Trying to keep her awe in check, she shook her head and tucked in a piece of her hair into her cap as she turned the corner, yelping when someone bumped into her and knocked her flat on her rear.

"Crap!" Shouted Keisuke. "Damn, sorry. Didn't see where I was going." He said as he held out his hand. Takimi took it to help her up and blinked at how rough it felt. Calloused and tender, yet warm. It made her shiver almost pleasantly.

"Keisuke," Ryosuke jogged over just as Keisuke helped the girl he bumped into up, the latter himself looking a little dazed for some reason. "You two OK?"

"Yeah…" The blonde wasn't too sure on that. Were girls' hands always so dainty and small like that? He couldn't remember the last time he held one's hand before. "Hey, how about you? You OK?" He asked, shaking out of his stupor.

"I'm fine," Replied Takimi, out of it herself and looking up at the brothers. They were so tall and alien to her. Most boys were, but the both of them were different. She couldn't take her sleepy eyes off them. "Do any of you know where the lobby is, though? I got tofu to deliver."

"That's the place we're actually trying to avoid." Keisuke coughed, but Ryosuke nudged him lightly in the ribs as he smiled charmingly at the delivery girl.

"We do. We'd like to show you, but only if you'd do us a favor." He said.

A slender brow rose. "Favor?" Asked Takimi. "What kind of favor?"

* * *

 _ **(-)(-)(-)** Five-six years ago **(-)(-)(-)**_

 _Bunta was holding a cup of water instead of a bottle of sake that night. Was she dreaming?_

 _"Dad?" She asked, her worry heightening as Bunta made a bee-line for the steps. "Dad-"_

 _"Come on," He said. Curious, his daughter obeyed and followed him all the way to the garage, the white and old-fashioned car kept in as well-conditioned as her father could parked right in the middle. She pointed at the car and found herself even more confused when Bunta edged her to the driver's side and popped open the door for her. Uneasily did she slid in the seat while her father took the passenger side. Was this some sort of a joke, like before?_

 _"Uh, dad-"_

 _"I know that you made those deliveries a few nights ago," Takimi hung her head, preparing herself for a lecture she'd never thought she'd get. "Those turns are dangerous and the roads are steep. Could have gotten yourself killed and I wouldn't have even known."_

 _"I'm sorry…" She'd never thought she'd say that to Bunta. Was he going to punish her? Ground her or disown her, even? He let her off easy before, but she didn't think he would go easy on her this time. Well, she was half-right. A large hand gently clapped the top of her head, brown eyes peeking through her bangs as Bunta ruffled her hair. This was not at all what she was expecting, neither was the small drop of keys that landed on her lap. "Dad?"_

 _"Here's the deal," Straight back to business. Because besides making sure his child was alive, running the tofu shop was another of Bunta's top priorities. Takimi should have seen it coming. "You know how to drive, but you don't know how to drive well. You can make an average of deliveries in a few hours, but you can make more if you have training."_

 _"Dad," She shook her head. "I can't. Last time was because you couldn't. I'm only thirteen, I'll get caught."_

 _"That didn't stop you last time, now did it?" Asked Bunta. His straight mouth nearly cracked a corner at the glare the teenager sent his way. Just like her mother. "And you'll be handling the night deliveries so it's unlikely. Look, Takimi," He turned to her while puffing out his cigarette the other way. The driver's nose wrinkled. "You can do it. Just don't think about it. Just drive." He took her wrists, a touch that made Takimi flinch, and placed her hands on the wheel, his eyes softened just a touch. Takimi could almost see the brown-colors they shared. "Just drive."_

 _He was serious. Well, her father was serious all the time, but this is where it really mattered. His business was important, and if he was asking her to help him with it, then that almost made her feel important. While they had nothing of relative and sentimental emotions, this plan patched by the tofu shop could fill what they didn't have; a connection_ _._

 _She turned to the wheel, latching her fingers onto the leather circle and easing her feet on the pedal and break. She slid one of her hands down to rest on the head of the stick shift and took a deep breath, locking her eyes on the road as she started the car._

 _'Just drive…'_

* * *

 _ **(-)(-)(-)** Present **(-)(-)(-)**_

"Fujiwara Tofu Shop," Takimi tipped her hat in greeting while Ryosuke copied her. "If it's not our tofu, it's no good."

"Charming," Snuffed the owner of the hotel, eyeing the two dressed in yellow and black before he flicked his wrist to the buffet tables in the back. "Just set the food right there and be on your way. We'd rather not have our guest see the food unprepared."

"Yessir," Tipping her hat once more, Takimi and her new charge pushed the cart all the way to the back and unloaded the boxes of tofu onto the table, a pair of hands secretly handing them some boxes from beneath the cloth-covered cart. "That all of them?"

"Yeah," Keisuke made a disgusted noise from his hiding spot. "Can't believe people eat this shit."

"Keisuke." Ryosuke scolded, surprised when the delivery girl gave a modest shrug.

"Not the best but people order it anyway." She agreed. Bunta could make a tofu just fine, but since she had to eat some of it for the most part of her life, she detested the bland food as much as the next person. "Alright, show me the way out."

Ryosuke pointed at the door at the other side of the room and the pair pushed the cart that way. They tried to look discreet as possible, the oldest Takahashi suddenly tensing up as they passed Satoshi. But the old man was busy planning the desert selection with a caterer so they managed to slip out with little hassle. Once they were out in the parking lot, Keisuke hopped out of the cart and stretched his arms above his head, sighing.

"Freedom!" He grinned, looking over to Takimi as his brother handed back the jacket and hat she loaned him. "Thanks. If you didn't help us out back there, we'd be stuck there all day."

The girl shrugged, not sure if she helped two people out or escaped with two lunatics, but feeling the gratefulness nonetheless. "Don't mention it." She walked passed them, nearly tripling when they caught up to her.

"Please, let me at least pay you back in someway, miss," Said Ryosuke, holding in his gratitude more easily than his brother. "It's the least we could do."

"Really, it's fine. I don't want anything," She pushed her cart ahead, feeling heat crawl up to her neck as their eyes lingered on her. Besides Itsuki, Yuichi, and Bunta, no other guy had stared at her for so long, especially not rugged-looking blondes or sophisticated men. She rubbed at the back of her neck to ease the blood as she made it to the parking lot building, feeling much better as she drew close to the car.

* * *

Keisuke gave a whistle. "She's a real piece of work."

"Indeed."

"Kinda cute, too."

Ryosuke raised a surprised eyebrow. Didn't Keisuke just tell their mother girls were the least of their concerns? "Keisuke?"

The latter shook his head. "Never mind. C'mon," He jingled his keys. "Let's get going. The guys are waiting."

The elder brother didn't say anything, but a million things were going off in his head as he followed his little brother.

* * *

"Never again..." Takimi landed on a heap on the side of the road, holding her stomach as her face turned green. "Never, _ever_ again…"

"Geez, you're overreacting," Itsuki helped the shaking girl sit up and handed her a water bottle with a roll of his eyes. "Honestly, you're screaming could have ruined Inari's concentration, and then where would we all be?! Seriously, why are you so scared of driving in cars anyway?"

"You wouldn't get it," Takimi finished the bottle in a few gulps, her stomach still tumbling on her. "Even if I told you, you wouldn't."

"I would-!"

"Itsuki, take it easy on her," Inari walked over with the rest of the team, everyone else looking a little concerned. "I did push it hard on the way up here. It's only natural that Takimi would freak out after that," She gave a smile at the younger girl, a round face framed by short, dark brown hair. "Just take it easy, OK, Takimi? I think you had enough excitement for one night."

The brown-eyed student nodded in return. If she had known this was how Inari was going to take them to watch the SpeedStars practice, she would have never agreed to come. If she were the one driving, she would be fine. Being in control of the car and just being a passenger were two completely different things. If she wasn't in control, her stomach would pay the price. Hopefully, nothing else would be upsetting her stomach tonight.

"Hey, Inari, we got company!"

How fate played with her so maliciously.

Takimi looked up from her spot on the floor as a pack of blazing headlights herded themselves to the SpeedStars' side of the road. The line-up of cars were impressive, each and every one of them maintained well. She could see, "Akagi RedSuns" painted on one of the cars but only saw that much before the whole team crowded about. Was this something really to get excited about?

"Alright, listen up!" Takimi felt her heart stutter. She knew that voice. It was the blonde from before. "We're the Akagi RedSuns! You maybe heard of us. I don't wanna go off sounding like a prick but I wanna know who the fastest team and the fastest driver is on this side of the mountain! Anyone wanna claim that?"

"If it's the fastest team you're looking for, we're right here. The Akina SpeedStars," Inari crossed her arms over her chest as she narrowed her eyes at the brothers. "And if you're looking for the fastest racer, then that might just be me; Inari Tachibana!"

"She's so cool!" Itsuki looked as if he'd die of happiness. Takimi felt ready to die of embarrassment. If the brothers saw and recognize her, that would definitely cause unwanted attention. The brunette drew away from that like the plague. The last thing she ever wanted in life was people staring at her.

She barely listened to what happened after that. Apparently, the RedSuns were there to scope out the other teams in the local area and a guy from their own team suggested that they do a couple of races. No title claims or anything, just a few races to build character and trust among the two teams. While Takimi was impressed by the suggestion of it all, Inari hesitated on the idea before she nodded.

"You're on." She replied.

"Ten 'o clock, next Saturday," Replied Keisuke as he and the team returned to their cars. "Don't piss out on us."

"Same goes for you!" Inari hissed as the RedSuns drove off to practice on the mountain. She turned back to the SpeedStars with a huff. "Time to ride, guys. If we're gonna show those RedSuns why we're the fastest team here, we gotta give some proof! Who's with me?!"

Her teammates gave their own cheers and they all hopped into their cars, driving after the RedSuns.

"You two stay here, alright?" No matter how badly Itsuki wanted to argue, the team leader wasn't having it. "This is too serious of a thing. Trust me, you do not want to be in the same car as me when I'm serious, guys. Especially if it means I get to see the skills of the Takahashi Brothers first hand."

"Takahashi Brothers?" Takimi looked up the path all the tail lights were disappearing into. "That's who they are?"

"You've been living under a rock all these years, haven't you?" Itsuki sighed exasperatedly. "How could you not know who the Takahashi Brothers are?!"

"If it helps, they're also known as the Rotary Brothers," Inari explained. That didn't help Takimi one bit. "From what's been going on in the circuit, they're said to be the fastest racers in Akagi. The guy with the blonde hair and smug attitude is the younger brother, Keisuke Takahashi. And the older guy who looks ready to stare you down is the oldest, Ryosuke Takahashi," Inari gave a small smirk. "They're hot, but I'm not gonna let that stop me from beating them."

"You look so serious, Inari," Itsuki breathed in awe. "Are you sure we can't go? This is too good to miss!"

Their superior gave a firm look. "I mean it. I'll come back for you two, I will. Just stay put." Having no further arguments, Inari sped away in a trail of dust. Itsuki fell to the floor in defeat.

"Damnit! Why are we the two losers with no car to ride in?! This is not fair!" He cried in defeat.

As Akina's mountain winds began to pick up, Takimi stuffed her hands into her jacket, her ponytail lightly thumping her back. "Hey, Itsuki? Is being a street racer all that fun as you and the others say it is? I don't get it."

"And I don't get it that you don't get it," Sighing, her friend picked himself up and looked at her in a sure way, a way that Takimi rarely seen from him. "The crazy turns, the need to catch up to your opponent, your heart beating a mile a minute. Takimi, that's what street racing brings out! It brings out a side of you no one has ever seen! The real you! Does it make any sense now?" He asked, wanting his best friend to feel as much excitement as he did because of this.

Takimi looked back to the dark path and clenched her fists, as if she were gripping the wheel of her own car.

"The real me, huh?"

* * *

 _ **(-)(-)(-)** Three years ago **(-)(-)(-)**_

 _Parking the car right in the garage, Takimi gave a yawn as she stepped back into the apartment and found it surprisingly empty. She scoured around the tiny apartment for her father and checked the shop as well. No sign of him._

 _"Business trip?" She guessed. Bunta called them business trips but Takimi was starting to wonder if they were just excuses for him to go drink at bars. But she'd never ask. That would just earn her a bucket of ice-cold water poured on her head that next morning. Deciding not to worry, she went straight up to her room and flopped herself on her bed for sleep, opening her eyes when she felt something lumpy there. Tiredly, she pulled whatever it was out and flashed on her lamp light._

 _It was the ugliest teddybear she'd seen in her life. It's fur was mangled and stained from who-knows-what. Whoever tried to clean it used too much bleach so the brown color of the fur was gone. Both missing eyes were replied with two different buttons, both she recognized from Bunta's old shirts. Its little red bow tie was a clip-on that was wearing out and it's green vest had plenty of holes in it. It was a monster of a toy, something that no kid would want. But then there was the note attached to its paw, the words scrawled on simply._

 _ **'Did what I could. It looks a lot like you so I thought you'd like it. -Dad**_

 _There was no, 'I love you,' or 'Thanks for helping with deliveries.' It was ugly, it smelt funny, cheap, and probably the worst present ever. But Takimi hugged it anyway. She squeezed it to her chest and shut her eyes as they began to sting._

 _Her father remembered._

* * *

 _ **(-)(-)(-)** Present **(-)(-)(-)**_

Bunta picked up the phone on the first ring. Customers loved the attentive-types of companies, and even though Bunta lacked this, he could at least make it up as he went along.

"Hello? Fujiwara Tofu Shop. If it's not our tofu, it's no good. Owner speaking." As soon as he heard the caller, he gave a calm smile. He only ever did that when Takimi wasn't around. Thankfully, she was out that night. "Well, what a surprise. Yours is the last voice I expected to hear."

 _'Good to talk to you, too,'_ Yuichi chuckled on the other end. _'Is that the way you talk to an old friend?'_ He laughed again, already knowing the answer to that. _'That aside, I just remember that you passed me on a way back from your delivery, I signaled you but you blew right by me as if I was nobody.'_

"Huh? Real sorry to disappoint you, but that wasn't me." Replied his old friend. Bunta hadn't been driving in the mountains for ages now.

 _'Had to be. It was the panda, without a doubt. The 86, Bunta. I'd know your car anywhere.'_

It hit him, then. Bunta gave a short laugh, flicking ashes off the cigarette he lit a while ago.

"OK, you caught me," He sighed. "It was my car you saw but I wasn't the one driving it at the time. My daughter, Takimi, is the one delivering tofu to the hotels now." He pulled his ear away from the phone as Yuichi made a coughing noise. Must have spat out his drink.

 _'W-Wait, what did you say?! Takimi?! Your Tamiki? My employee?! Since when?'_

The old man's forehead crinkled. How long had it been? He could never keep the track of time.

"I don't know. Five, six years? Give or take one?"

 _'Your kid's been making deliveries since middle school?!"_

* * *

Giving a long, tired yawn, Takimi rolled her shoulders for a second, getting her thoughts back into motion as she drove the Trueno through the more close cornered roads of Akina. This path was nothing but a breeze for her since she rode along them since middle school. By knowing which way to go and when to shift gears, she could reel her thoughts back to racing.

For the past few days, after Inari observed the RedSuns and Itsuki laying down what was good about racing, Takimi couldn't get it out of her head. Was it really that fun, more so than what she gave it credit for? It felt tiring for her, at first. Staying up late and waking up early, it screwed her up a little. That was the flaw to it. But now, with this new insight of racing, she didn't know what to think. Her mind was left in a muck.

It was then that Takimi finally noticed some other car trying to pass her. A bright yellow FD. How long had it been trying to pass her? And why did it look so familiar?

If there was one thing Takimi was sure of, it was that she was _not_ going to let this car pass her. The road was narrow, one car in front of the other unless the two could switch. But Takimi couldn't afford to switch. Home was just a few hairpin turns and a climb away. She only had a few hours of sleep and didn't want to waste them. Sitting up, she took ahold of the 86 and kicked her driving into turbo. Not once did she let the FD pass her, not even on any of the close turns. This was when she decided to observe.

The FD was fast, but cautious on turns. It didn't know when to go fast or slow at just the right moment. But Takimi did. She knew. Five to six years of driving this oldie but goodie hadn't gone to waste.

Nearing the final hairpin, she barely heard the driver shout, "STOP!" as she accelerated and reversed the wheels in one slick move. Her chest swelled with air as the Tureno power slid right through the curve, one split second made as she straightened the wheels and charged through the inertial, the brunette guiding the stick shift with poise as she made it through the curves, leaving behind a wake of mystery that even she didn't know she left.

* * *

"Ryo," Keisuke wasn't sure if he was dreaming or dead, but he sure did feel like he was floating. "Ryosuke," He had no idea what to say. His heart and chest were trying to get blood and oxygen in quickly. His head was spinning, but he wasn't sure if it was from that. He had never felt this more excited before. "Ryosuke… I think I just saw the fastest racer in Akina… Drive an 86."

* * *

Takimi handed the receipts and bills of yen to Bunta as soon as she got home. "There," She yawned, removing her shoes. "Going to bed. Night."

"How was it?"

She stopped at the foot of the steps, turning to her father as he held the stacks of paper. Maybe he was sober, or maybe she was tired, but the question made Takimi smile a little. Was this something of a conversation?

"Fine. Got nauseous, but I'm fine." It had to be kept short, though. The both of them knew that neither of them could keep a long conversation. It just didn't work that way.

And Bunta understood. He gave a hum and returned to the earnings. "Alright. Night."

Having that, Takimi hurried up the steps and flung herself onto her bed like a rag doll. She sighed as she sunk into the mattress, finding her sleeping clothes she washed earlier and changing into them in no time. She slid into the covers and closed her eyes, finding it a little harder to sleep. Maybe, just maybe, it was from the race with FD. Maybe that's what got Itsuki and Inari excited about racing.

As she thought this, Takimi pulled an old and worn teddybear over to her, hugging it tightly as she fell asleep.

Maybe she could become that excited. So excited that she wouldn't want to sleep at all.

* * *

 **To Be Continued!**

 **And that is all for no,w my dear friends! Please, let me know what you think about this so far! If there are any other characters you wish to see genderbent or otherwise, let me know! I'd be happy to take request ^^ I plan on working on the second chapter soon so please keep an eye out. Once again, thank you for looking at the fic! I hope you enjoyed it ^_^**

 **This is me saying, Peace!**


	2. Race 2

**Hi, guys! ^^ I'm so glad that the start of this new fav has really taken off well. I'm glad to hear such positive things and responses from you guys and it just makes me happy to know that you guys are looking forward to more c: So thanks to all of you who left a review or joined along in following the story! Now to stop wasting time, here's the new chapter! Let's get this chapter rolling!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the rights over** ** _Initial D_** **. All rights go to Shuichi Shigeno. All I own is the cover art.**

* * *

 _ **Race 2: The Ghost of Akina**_

"And this should be the place," As easily as she could, Inari parked her S-13 at the side of the road, taking a moment to enjoy the mountain air. One of the reasons she loved driving on the mountain was how close it was to nature. The fresh air and smell of moss that hit her nose got her as excited as her time behind the wheel. But tonight, she didn't come out here for that, or even racing. "Dad said he should pop out here around now, just a little after 4:00 AM." Yuichi used to tell her these tales when she was a child, stories that would get her to sleep because she couldn't understand all the technical terms. But now that she was older, she wanted to test out those tales for sure. She wanted to see the legendary Ghost of Akina herself.

 _'And if it's as crazy as dad says, then I gotta keep my eyes open for that 86,'_ How coincidental. Itsuki was busting his chops about a Trueno non-stop this week. How could such an old car be bought up so much? There was nothing special to them at all, at least to her class. S-13s and FDs were the way to go these days. Anything below them were laughing stocks. Shaking her head and deciding to wait a little longer, the SpeedStars' leader leaned back and kept her eyes on the path ahead. Time seemed to pass by slowly and Inari could feel her eyes become heavier. Now she knew how Takimi felt everyday.

Before her head could even touch her steering well, the roar of an engine startled her. As her eyes blinked open, she barely had time to see a blur of white and black zip past her as if it were on fire. Or maybe it was on fire, judging by the bright trail of light it left in its wake. In a race of the moment, she jumped out of her car and stood frozen on the ground as the phantom vehicle raced down the mountain path like a comet. Her legs were starting to tremble and she released the breath she had been holding in, stunned to see the 86 disappear into thin air. Inari could hardly believe what she had just saw, or thought she saw. She wasn't even sure if that was real at all. But within her, she knew it had happened. Her father's stories were right.

Akina's fastest driver was a ghost. A ghost who drove a Trueno.

* * *

Takimi grabbed a pillow she dropped on the floor and chucked it at the doorframe. It barely grazed Bunta's leg.

"Fail."

"Don't care," Came a sleepy reply from the bundle of blankets. "Leave now."

"Not until you tell that friend of yours to stop snooping around." Said Bunta as he left the room. "She's scaring away customers."

"We have customers?" Thinking that her father might not have gotten his morning coffee, Takimi sat up and crawled out of bed, wrapping her blanket around her shoulders and throwing open her bedroom window. "Inari?" She asked in surprise, making the older girl below jump.

Inari looked just as shocked as she did. Takimi was the last person she'd expect to see here. "Takimi? What are you doing up there?"

"Not getting those spare twenty minutes of sleep I was looking forward to," Yawned the brunette, wiping the sleep from her eyes. "I live here. This is my old man's shop. Hold on, I'll be there in a sec." The younger girl disappeared from view, scrambling around to find some good clothes.

Inari returned her gaze to the 86 that was parked right in the garage next to the tofu shop. She nearly passed it on her way home and she almost crashed when she did spot it. Sure enough, it looked like the one she saw last night and the one her father described in his stories. But if it was the real one, then who was the driver?

"So, uh, you like hanging out the front of my house?" Inari shook away from her ideas and looked at Takimi as she walked over, looking as if she had somewhere to be.

"Oh, no. I was just passing by, honest. Didn't even know you lived around here." She said as she slipped her hands into her pockets, looking at Takimi's backpack. "Going out?"

"Morning shift at the diner," The brunette yawned once more. "I was gonna head out later but, since I'm up, you know?" She shrugged. Inari had to smile a little. Even when she didn't sound or look it, Takimi was a hard worker at heart. Inari admired that about her.

"That's cool. Hey, how about I give you a ride there?" She asked. "I'm the one who made you wake up early, right? C'mon, I was on my way home, anyway." Takimi shrugged.

"OK. Let me let my old man know first." The younger girl returned shortly after and relaxed as Inari started up the road. At this sort of speed, she could keep calm and not worry about the older girl driving off the side of the road like before. "Thanks for the ride."

"Don't mention it. It's the least I could do," At a stoplight, Inari looked over to her passenger. "Hey, Takimi, if you don't mind me asking, is this whole, 'I don't know jack about cars' just an act?" She guessed it wasn't, judging by the head tilt she got in response. "I mean, Itsuki's been going on and on about buying an 86 while you stare into space and act as if you don't know what it is, but then there's one parked in your garage? What's up with that?"

"I stare off into space?"

" _Takimi!_ "

"And what do you mean, 'there's an 86 parked in my garage'?" Takimi raised an eyebrow. "That piece of junk isn't an 86. I'm pretty sure that is says, 'True-ee-eno' on the back of it." She enunciated with difficulty.

"You're kidding, right?" Inari deadpanned. "Girl, a Trueno and an 86 are the same thing. They're both marked as the same based on model, engine, and some paint jobs. Totally the same." At this point, it looked like she broke the younger girl, judging by her bewilder look. "I just lost you, didn't I?"

At least she got a nod in return. "Yep."

* * *

" _WHAT?!_ "

"Itsuki!" Takimi's finger flew to her lips, signaling her friend to be quiet. "Keep the noise down. You scare off anymore customers and Miss. Hana will fire me."

"But you have an 86!" Itsuki whispered harshly, throwing a look at Takimi as she slid a milkshake to him and oolong tea to Inari. "And you didn't tell me?! Your best friend?!"

"If I knew you would have reacted like this, then I now have a perfectly good reason," With a huff, Takimi quickly went to an empty table and picked up a few used plates with a platter, making sure not to stain her waitress uniform. Hana, her boss, had specifically said that it was the only small one she could give to the petite girl, so she was advised not to get it too dirty. Besides her second boss being a littler stern, Takimi liked being a waitress. She enjoyed this job because the diner was small, quaint, and had a few regular customers almost everyday, so she had no worry about anyone looking at her. "Besides, I had no idea it was an 86 until Inari told me. If it's an 86, they should put that on the back instead of 'Trueno,' or whatever. Makes it less confusing."

"You're the confusing one here," However, her heavy friend's personality switched as he threw a cheeky grin at the waitress, the latter preparing to use her platter as a shield. "But that's besides the point! The point here is that we've been friends since the fourth grade and that dictates that you'll lend me that old panda of your's this Saturday, right?" He chimed.

"86, Trueno, panda? Can't you guys just call it a car to spare me a headache?" Sighed the high schooler as she handed the platter to a waiter by the counter. "Besides, why would you need it this Saturday?" She asked with her hands on her hips.

"So that I could look like a badass as I drive in to see the SpeedStars duke it out with the RedSuns!" Defended Itsuki, placing his hand over his heart. "I've been swept up by the racing scene since last night. It's consumed my life!" He grasped Takimi's hands and looked at her tearfully. "Don't you want to see the legendary Takahashi brothers get dusted?!"

"Takahashi?" Keisuke Takahashi flashed back into her mind, from that excited grin he gave her at their escape to how confident he sounded last night. Realizing she was turning hazy-eyed, the brunette shook her head as she blushed. "No, not really." Why was she suddenly thinking of him like that? She was hoping she wasn't turning into one of those love-sick groupies that hung out around concerts and high school games. She couldn't stand how obsessive they acted and she did not want to become that herself. Talking about this sort of thing with her friends while half-asleep wasn't doing her any good. "Look, I'm getting off my shift soon to catch up with some sleep at home. I'm gonna go change." She left for the back room before the pair could protest.

"What's up with her all of a sudden?" Asked Itsuki.

"Dude, you gotta stop getting in her face like that before-" When the diner's bell dinged, Inari clamped her lecture shut and watched as the RedStars themselves walked over to their table, Keisuke leading the pack.

"Well, fancy meeting the leader of the SpeedStars here while she's on a date," He said as Inari looked up at him coolly. Itsuki was too terrified and star-struck to speak. "Saw your S-13 in the front. You take good care of it real well, huh?"

"I do what I can," Inari said as she sat back in her seat, knowing fully-well how rich the Takahashis were and how they could treat their cars with the finest equipment. She acknowledged that their father's wealthy money helped them out, but that didn't mean she liked it. "I just hope to impress you with it while it's driving instead of when it's parked."

"Geez, no need to get so hostile," The blonde raised his hands in defense. "You act as if I'm a bad guy. What, been listening to too many fairytales?"

"Keisuke." Ryosuke sent him a warning look.

"Speaking of which," Keisuke ignored his brother completely, looking serious. "I was wondering if I could ask you about a local legend I just heard. Something called, 'The Ghost of Akina," He knew he had her when her fingers twitched. "Legend says that around 4:00 AM, a mysterious, white and black Trueno drives almost all over Akina, passing by every hairpin and drop as if the driver were some kind of phantom. You know anything about that?"

The SpeedStars' head racer sipped on her tea and met Keisuke's gaze. "I'm sorry, but I don't respond well to sarcasm." She said flatly, her eyebrow twitching as another smirk played on the boy's lips.

"I wasn't trying to be sarcastic. What I'm talking about is a Trueno; looks like your ordinary, piece-of-crap from the outside but whoever's behind the wheel is a demon." Inari looked the other way as he spoke. "There's no way a local like you hasn't heard of it." She briefly met his eyes before looking away again. "Fine, play dumb. But just so you know, if that urban legend of yours is your secret weapon for Saturday's race, you'll be doing me a favor." A flash of excitement swiped across the professional's eyes. "You can tell that ghost friend of yours that I'm onto his game. Keisuke Takahashi doesn't loose to the same guy twice."

 _'He lost a race?!'_ Now Inari was stunned along with Itsuki. To hear that a Takahashi brother lost a race was unthinkable, even more so if he lost to an 86.

"Now that I'm more familiar with the pass, the SpeedStars' can kiss any hope of victory goodbye." Pulling away from the table, the RedSuns went off to find their own table in the back, leaving the two at the other table stupefied.

"Hey, I'm-" Takimi pulled over to their table, noticing how frightened they both looked. "Uh… You guys OK? You're acting as if you've seen a ghost." Noticing how pale the two of them began to turn, she made a grab for the remote on the counter. "H-Hold on, you guys. You just, um… Well…" In a fit of panicking, she surfed to the sports' channel on one of the diner's televisions, and actually felt relived to see it was on racing. "There, guys. Look, racing! You guys are crazy about this, right? Itsuki? Inari?"

"Huh?" Inari snapped her head about and whipped it to a worried brunette as Itsuki looked at the TV, beginning to calm down from his mini heart-attack. "Oh, yeah, uh, sure. Thanks, Takimi". She said in an absent-minded way, reeling herself back on her seat and tugging on a few hair strands caught in her bangs. The lead racer of the SpeedStars looked over to Takimi and felt her cheeks loose even more pigment as she remember the Trueno parked in Takimi's garage. Even though she could hardly believe, Inari came to the conclusion that the Ghost of Akina was real, and he had beaten one of the Rotary Brothers in a race.

The waitress stared at the both of them, concern stirring in her before she decided to sit down next to Itsuki. "I think I'll just stay with you guys a little longer. I can get some more sleep later." She said as the drift racing went on. That awkward silence was soon replaced with Itsuki hollering off the top of his lungs in order to cheer for the racer on the TV. Takimi was starting to think that maybe now was a good time to make her escape, considering that her friends looked to be in a good mood again.

"You see what I mean now, Takimi?"

"Hm?" Hummed the brunette, already looking lost.

"The race! Doesn't it get your blood boiling?!" Itsuki asked with a wicked grin.

Takimi nodded like a pet performing a trick, barely paying attention. "Uh-huh. It practically evaporated from my veins."

"Takimi!" Whined her childhood friend, lightly flopping at her like a fish. "You aren't even looking! Do you even know what a drift is!" At the light but transparent nod, he gave her a look. "Alright, then what is it?"

"Ah…" Brown eyes crinkled in concentration and pink lips were worried on. "Well, on a curve you-"

"OK, first of all," Itsuki stopped her without even trying. "Don't call it a curve. People in the know call it a _corner_."

"Yeah," Takimi continued. "OK, fine. When you're in a corner, you make the front tire slide when the car's not facing the inside when you turn." She motioned steering with her hands while her co-workers looked at her in disbelief. "Otherwise, you're toast."

It only took the both of them a second before they burst into laughter. Takimi stood up with a sigh. At least the both of them didn't look like they were about to croak, though she almost wished that were the case right now.

"You gotta do stand-up, man! Explaining understeering like that, oh, my god!"

"You use the back tires for a drift, not the front! Everyone knows that!"

"Huh, sorry if I'm not everyone," While a little annoyed at the commentary, she was glad that the two of them weren't upset anymore. She'd rather have them laughing at her instead of sulking. The young driver threw the hood of her jacket over her head to keep the sun out of her eyes as she walked to the door. "You guys look alright so I'm leaving. Later. See you next shift, Miss. Hana!" As her friends still giggled during her leave, her commentary did not go unheard of.

"Keisuke," The younger brother was already one step ahead of Ryosuke as he stood up and walked as quickly and calmly as he could outside. The both of them could tell that, that girl knew what she was talking about, even though she didn't know herself. In her own words, she had described a perfect, four-wheel drift. Only someone who had mastered the mountain their whole lives could have described it as thoroughly as that. Someone like the ghost.

Keisuke ran outside and looked every way for the ghost, peeking over heads and searching around corners, but unable to spot her. True to her title, the ghost was gone.

"Owner wouldn't tell me anything about her," Ryosuke came out before Keisuke could walk back inside, pushing his dark hair back. "Said that it was part of an employee-owner trust fine. I understand that, but still…" The older brother sighed. "That doesn't help our case." When Keisuke had told him about the beat-up 86 that passed him on the mountain, he grew just as interested as his brother. A person with such skills needed to be observed and tested. He needed to know every last thing about the racer, right down to how their car's tires' squealed. This ghost was their only reason for staying in this town, after all.

"Well, we do know one thing, at least," Ryosuke gave a curious look at the dirty-blonde as the latter cracked a grin his way. "We got a princess driving with us in the hairpins. Question is, how are we gonna find her when her pumpkin becomes a carriage?"

* * *

Today was the second time Takimi wanted to rip her hair out of someone waking her up. These few precious hours of sleep meant a lot to her, so to her that was no exaggerating. But when she saw it was her usual alarm screaming at her, she sighed, lugged herself off the futon, and turned it off. She made her bed and took out her delivery clothes, feeling a pinch more active once she washed her face and changed. As she hopped herself into the 86 a while later, she touched the shift stick, tested the gas pedal, and tried to make herself comfortable in the leather seat. She thought if she got a better feel of the car, maybe she could understand what her friends kept badgering on about cars. But after a few minutes of this, her lips curled and she rolled her eyes.

"They're crazy." She concluded, looking up at her father as he handed her the usual cup of water. It was a little method Bunta came up with after observing his daughter drive for a while; keep the water in the cup while driving. If no water spills, the tofu packed in the back will be fine and dandy. Albeit, the honey-brunette found it ridiculous at first, it worked. No less expected from her old speed racer of a father. But when she took the styrofoam cup, Takimi noticed something odd. "Isn't there a lot more water in here than usual?"

"Excellent observation," Commented Bunta with a nicotine stick in his mouth. "But the same rules apply."

Takimi sighed. Less questions, more results. Odd but it worked in her father's favor. "Yeah, yeah." She started the engine, watching the cup before looking at her dad. "See you." She said as she drove off into the night, still trying to look for that feeling even as she charged down the hill. Was it suppose to burn a feeling in her gut or did it short-circuit itself into her brain? Was she suppose to know it was coming or did it just pop up unexpectedly? The young driver shook her head. She was getting warped into this, roped by Itsuki's hopes and Inari's promises, and just about everyone else's two cents about the whole subject. It started to consume her, fill her thoughts almost everyday. Takimi was starting to think that she was the crazy one.

 _'And I shouldn't be thinking this,'_ She thought as she turned a corner, easing her shift as the water danced a little near the rim of the cup. _'It has nothing to do with me. I only drive to deliver the old man's tofu, plain and-'_ Loud, blaring lights cut off her train of thought as they bordered her vision. Was she being pulled over?

But as she stopped at the side of the road, the cop cars and ambulance following them flew past her. Takimi tilted her head. Had there been an accident on the mountain? Since she was going the same way, she decide to just drive by and see what had happened. She followed after the red and blue lights and looked around the broken railing. It definitely was an accident. Nothing too bad but the car there looked pretty damaged. Brown-grey eyes widen as she caught the chipped, silver coat of an S-13, and Takimi stopped her car and ran over to the scene.

"Excuse me!" The cops there didn't let her pass. "Please, let me see who the driver is! I know her! Inari!"

"Miss, you will need to step back. We do not need any pedestrians interfering with our work," Said the cop as he held Takimi back. "The paramedics are putting your friend in the ambulance right now. Please, return to your car."

"At least let me call her dad," Takimi was shaking, her throat going dry. While she rarely cried in her lifetime, she couldn't help but feel frightened. Inari was just as much as a best friend to her as Itsuki was. She worried about what would happen. "Please, if you have a phone or something on you, let me call her dad. He lives right down the mountain and should at least know."

After a little more talking and with a few minutes to let the poor girl calm down, the cops agreed to lend her a phone in the car. Takimi quickly dialed Yuichi to let him know what happened and was relieved to hear that he was heading straight for the hospital to go check on her. She didn't call her own father, though. At first, she'd thought to call him and ask if she could drive to the hospital herself to check on Inari, too. But would he even let her, with the deliveries she had to carry out? She asked Yuichi for his advice.

 _"Kiddo, your dad's not a heartless monster,"_ He said over the call. _"But I'm sure he wouldn't want you to worry too much either. Inari's a tough girl, Takimi. I know my own daughter and I know she's going to be OK. I'll send in Haku to watch over you and the others at work while I'll stay with Inari in the hospital."_ She could almost feel him patting her shoulder reassuringly. _"I'll keep you guys up to date with how she's going. Till then, finish your deliveries and head on home. Don't worry. Everything's going to be fine."_

* * *

"That was boss," Haku, Yuichi's stand in, placed the phone down and looked at Takimi, Itsuki, and Inari's second-in-command, Kenji. All three of them looked worried in their own ways and it almost broke his heart. "Guys, c'mon, Inari's not dying." He smiled a little at how relieved they looked at that. "She's just a little roughed up. Bruises, whiplash, the works. She can still walk, too, but she'll be taking a few days off of work for some recovery."

"But what about the race against the RedSuns?" Itsuki looked at Kenji. "Man, don't you have any sub-ins for her?"

Kenji pushed his dark brown hair back with a sigh. "No, not yet. We need someone with a car, though. I heard her S-13 got really banged up. It's in the shop right now."

Takimi felt her stomach clench as she watched her friends go on. If only she had been there sooner, maybe by just a few minutes, she could have prevented the crash. She had no idea how she could have done it, but just _something_ could have possibly made a difference.

"Takimi?" Itsuki notice his childhood friend going quiet. "Hey, c'mon, say something. You've never been quiet like this, man. Takimi?!" He gasped as Takimi simply ran inside, looking distraught. "Takimi-!"

"Itsuki, let her go," Said Haku before the drifting fan could go after the brunette. "Give her some space. I think the shock must've hit her a little too hard." All three of them silently agreed, a worrying air there.

* * *

The tofu shop's door gave a ding. Inari scanned the tofu on display as best as she could with her neck brace. While she was happy to be well enough to get out of the hospital, all she worried about was the race against the RedSuns. She couldn't drive with her body this banged up or her S-13 in worse shape than herself. The SpeedStars needed a replacement, and fast.

The young racer looked around the shop. The place was fairly clean, a table set here and there with blue and white tiles decorating the place. Not even a family picture was hanging on the wall, looking as if Takimi didn't live there at all. The shop was as simple and quiet as a tofu shop could be. It was not entirely what she had envisioned for an infamous ghost to hang about. "Excuse me!" She called out. "I'd like some fried-tofu, please!"

"Be out there-" Bunta pulled back the curtain and raised his eyebrow at the beat-up girl in his shop. She was Yuichi's kid. He remembered when his wife would arrange small play dates for her and Takimi when she was just a baby. It had been so long that Takimi must have forgotten all about them. "You alright?"

"Just a little accident," The teen gave a small smile, a hair cut into a neat bob to make room for the bandages. "Thanks for your concern, Mr. Fujiwara."

"Fried-tofu, right?" Bunta was already filling the container, dodging the thanks. He could never accept those well. "So, I heard from Takimi's loud-mouth friend that you'll be racing some 'hot-shots' from Agaki or something. I don't know half the things that kid shouts."

Leave to Itsuki to run his mouth off about everything, including the race. "That's Itsuki for you," Giggled Inari, dropping the smile for a professional look. "Actually, that's why I'm here. I wanted to ask you a favor." She didn't give Bunta a second to ask. "The battle's on Saturday. Please, sir, drive in my place."

Bunta nearly dropped his cigarette. Was this girl serious?

"I'm begging you! I need your help!" Yeah, she was serious. By the way she was trying to bow and shrieking as her back started to hurt, she was dead-serious. "Ah! My friggin' neck!"

"Don't die here." She died, then Yuichi would be sure that Bunta die if Inari kicked the bucket in his shop.

"Don't plan to. Not unless you drive for me, sir!" The young racer stood back on her feet, holding the back of her neck with strain. "Please, you have to do this! My father told Takimi and I all about your races when you were younger! You just have to understand what's at stake!"

"Just because all that stuff was back then, it doesn't mean I don't understand what you mean, kid," Bunta wrapped up the tofu neatly and weighed it. "But if I go up there with all those teens hanging around, they'll think I'm senile.

Inari cursed under her breath. Why did he and Takimi both have to have a phobia of crowds' judgement? "None of that will matter once you beat Keisuke Takahashi again! If you did it once, then you could do it once more! I know you can!"

 _'Again?'_ It happened again. People were mistaking him for Takimi again. Did they really drive in the same style? And if so, that could mean that his daughter was getting better behind the wheel than he thought. This was starting to sound more and more interesting. "Fine."

Inari blinked in surprise. "H-Huh?"

"I don't like repeating myself," He did it anyway. "Fine. It might race for you. _Might_. I'm not making any guarantees."

She was going to cry. Bunta couldn't handle crying, not even when Takimi was little. But now Inari was sobbing in front of him, thanking him one-too many times and laying the whole race information straight. As she rambled on, he couldn't help but draw his thoughts back to Takimi, remembering how perplexed she looked when she was first given the car keys. It was such a dumbfounded expression, like a silly face carved on a piece of wood. Simply too out of place.

He almost chuckled, wondering if she would wear that same expression next Saturday.

* * *

Right as the lights of the gas station flickered off, Yuichi nearly jumped when a car honked right in front of the station.

"Can't you see that the lights were off?" He asked as the car parked by the gas pumps. He hoped it wasn't some street racer punk. Having one for a daughter gave him enough grey hairs. "We're closed."

"Aw, shut up, grease monkey." There was only one person in the world who could get away with saying that. "Fill 'er up with your highest octane."

The owner nearly laughed as Bunta patted the panda's door. Even to this day, this car was special to his old friend.

"You're crazy to think that I'll dump good octane into this old 86."

The pair had somehow wounded up having a smoke despite the situation. The faint, nicotine clouds disappeared into the dark night as fat moths fluttered around the lamp lights.

Quiet nights like these reminded Bunta of his younger years. He and Yuichi were just like any other wayward race fans on the street back in the day. They were at the prime of their youths, their whole lives ahead of them with endless possibilities. They were both determined to sopend their lives thoroughly and were the perfect tag-team. Well, Yuichi tagged along and scouted for girls while Bunta bought them in with his driving skills, but there was still effort in that. In a sense, that was how Kaname had stumbled into their lives. The both of them even fought for her until she had enough, and proved to them one day that she had the choice of who she'd love. That faithful day was a good one. At the end of it, she was sitting right by Bunta's side as they drove down the mountain.

Bunta remembered that drive well. The way Kaname would lean overb and smile up at him as they drove. For a quiet girl, she hardly said anything. But when she spoke, Bunta felt like he wasn't driving anymore. Just listening to her soft voice as she rested her head on his shoulder was amazing. Bunta loved the sound of her voice so much, he could even hear it while the wind blew right into the car.

"Penny for you thoughts?"

"My thoughts are gonna cost you more." Yuichi chuckled at the response. Classic Bunta.

"Had to be you," The younger man cocked his head to Bunta. "Whenever Kaname bought Takimi for a play date, you told her and Inari those stories, didn't you?"

"Hey, you try getting two toddlers to take a nap," The gas station owner threw a smile. "I think Takimi wasn't interested in them, but Inari was. I think you might have been the one to inspire her to race, all those stories about a Trueno charging like a shooting star and whatnot," That thought kinda made him a little sad. Never did he think his daughter's hero would be this lazy bum. "And she liked them, and nothing means more to me than seeing my family smile."

"She came into my store today," Bunta dropped the family subject like a hot potato. Yuichi didn't blame him. "All banged up and begging me to take her place in a big race this Saturday. Gotta say, I was a little flattered."

Yuichi cracked a teasing grin. "If you were flattered, go for it. Not like you have other plans."

A puff of smoke was released after a short pause. "I said maybe, but now I'm thinking I shouldn't. A bunch of brats staring at me like I'm some sort of Big Foot? Sticking your nose into these kiddie fights? That's not how I roll, Yuichi."

"Bunta," Something of a glare made its way to the boss' face. "This is my kid you're going to let down. She loves racing as much as life itself and she needs someone to drive for her, or else she might do it herself and injure herself again. I don't want to see her hurt again. You crush her, I crush you."

"I thought threatening was beneath you, Yuichi."

"I'm not saying _you're_ the one who should race." There was that grin again. Now Bunta was curious. "I'm saying that someone who races _like_ you could do it." His grin widened a bit as it dawned on his old friend.

"You mean Takimi?"

"That's right. The kid's developing some real skill."

Bunta shook his head even as he thought about it. "Yeah, but she still gots ways to go. If it's for Akina's downhill, then she could pull it off, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. She can cream anyone without even thinking,"He couldn't help but chuckle. "Except for me, of course."

"Always the competitive one, even with your own daughter," But Yuichi was smiling. He hadn't seen this kind of smugness or pride from Bunta in a long time.

"Takimi's the same way." Well, this was new. Yuichi was sure that his employee was almost every bit like her mother; mellowed out, rule-abiding, shy and awkward in all respects. Competitive didn't fit her. "She won't go out there and race unless it's for herself, and she sure as Hell won't go if I tell her to." There it was. One quirk that connected the two puzzle pieces. Both Bunta and Takimi were rebels by heart, even with such plain faces masking their true colors. "And she's only ever drove to deliver tofu. Hm…"

"Did you think of something?"

"Yeah," Bunta snuffed out the cigarette on the ground. "And it involves tofu."

Yuichi snorted. "Since when doesn't it?"

* * *

"Hey, I got a delivery I need you to handle."

"Huh?" Takimi looked up from the book she was reading. "Dad, is Saturday. I get my day off on the weekend, remember?" At least, that was the agreement they made. And Bunta (mostly) kept to his word.

"Thought you might say that," Takimi caught the envelope before it smacked her on the forehead. "I just need you to handle this one delivery for tonight. Do it, you can have all that."

"This?" Takimi opened the envelope, her eyes widening at the fat stack of yen there. "Th-This-"

"Spending money for a vacation." Bunta crossed his arms over his chest as the young girl counted the money. It was the equivalent of five-months' pay from the shop, tips included. "Plus a full tank of gas on a certain day. You always said you wanted to see the ocean, right? Do this delivery and next month, you and your friends can go goof off and do whatever… Well, not whatever. I don't want to be a grandpa yet so don't have _too_ much fun." He warned, hiding a smirk when a pert nose went pink. He still got it.

Takimi couldn't believe what she was seeing. Though her father wasn't tight with her on money, she never kept this much of it before. And it wouldn't go to buying lunch from school or getting work done for the 86, or even gas money. A legit vacation was in her sites. The brunette had always longed to see the ocean, or at least something other than mountains. And while she loved her quaint, little mountain town, she did remember Yuichi telling her how her mother had come from the coastal region before she came to Akina.

As much as she tried to hide it, she did long to know more about Kaname. All she had was one photo she knew Bunta kept in his pillow. It was of her mother sitting on her father's lap when they were younger, her father sitting on the hood of the 86. It was taken after Bunta had one a race. But in the black and white picture, the finish line, the car, and not even the prize was what Bunta eyeing. He was only looking at her mother, something of a twinkle in his eyes. Her mother caused that twinkle, and with her gone, the light left from Bunta's eyes. It was sad. It made Takimi sad. She wanted to know more about Kaname. More about the woman that was adored in the photograph.

Her head shot up with a raised brow. "What's the catch?"

"No catch. Just head up to the place at exactly 10:00, and don't crash the car." Bunta turned and made his way down the steps, calling over his shoulder. "And no water cup. Just drive up there and get the job done."

"Old man?" Asked Takimi to herself, looking at the envelope in her hand then back to the door. It would be 10:00 in two hours or so. No water cup meant that she could go as fast as she wanted. A chill ran down her spine. Strange, she got excited from that. Was the water cup the only thing holding her back from experiencing what the others were talking about? Couldn't be. And yet her spine still tingled straight down, heat pooling into her stomach. And it felt good.

"Old man… Dad." She almost hid her smile, and hurried down the steps to get the directions from her father.

* * *

"Ryo," Keisuke popped his head from the crack of the door, sighing as he already heard the clacking noises of his brother's computer. "You know, your millions of fans would be pretty disappointed to see you acting like a computer hermit."

"Just as disappointed to hear that you collected FelineHero Z action figures when you were twelve, I'm sure."

"I-I'm saving those for when they're worth something!"

"I'm sure some other grown-man will appreciate a PantherBoy figurine as much as you do in the future," The blonde grumbled at the remark, taking a seat on Ryosuke's bed. "Anyway, you just came at the right time. There's something I've been meaning to discuss with you before we go to the race."

"Sure, what is it?" Ryosuke's spun around to his little brother, folding his hands on his lap.

"Tell me; that 86 you saw in the mountain a while ago, can you could describe the speed of the car? Theoretically speaking, of course." He said. Keisuke visibly flinched. "That fast, then? And here I am always saying that this," He tapped his head. "Is the most important tool when it comes to racing."

"I can't come up with calculations as fast as you, Ryo," Keisuke sighed. He wasn't ashamed of it. His brother was smart, books and race-wise. It was a simple fact of life. "All I know is that you can learn anything about a driver by just watching them from behind. You can get a good gage on their habits, their weaknesses, even how their suspension is set up. How you get that out of all your computer simulations, I'll never know." He shrugged.

Ryosuke laughed softly, his computer glowing along with the lamp lights in the room. "In my opinion, the fact that you can get out there and drive the way you do without thinking about it and keeping up with me makes you the scary one." He leaned back in his seat. "If you could apply theories to your skills, your racing would change dramatically." His brother had potential that was locked up, and the older Takahashi was itching to get it out.

"Hey, I only lost because I was careless and I didn't know how the road went," Ah, and there was that short temper Ryosuke was used to. From times when the boy would throw a tantrum as a child, to this. Ryosuke always saw when they came. A glint in the blonde's eye and the anger brewed until it would burst. "I've never been embarrassed like that before. I'm telling you, that 86 has some sort of monster under the hood."

"Now, now, didn't you already theorized that we have a damsel driving her own coach?" Asked Ryosuke as he went back to the computer, gliding his fingers across the keys. "Now that we're on that topic, I've been working on trying to identify her. So far, not much luck. You wouldn't believe how many registered drivers licenses I've looked through thanks to father's records."

"Wouldn't surprise me if this chick didn't have one," Keisuke laid back on the bed as he stated at the ceiling, the night he lost still flashing through his mind. "If she had one, we would be finding her at a police station. Bat-shit crazy driving like that could end you in a cell, or a morgue." Still, his own chest was starting to swell, the flashes soon replaced with thoughts on who this crazy chick could be.

* * *

"Hold on, won't the tofu get crushed if I don't have the cup helping me?"

"You'll do fine without it," Bunta blew out a puff of smoke. "Just drive up there and get home soon after."

"That's another thing," Takimi tilted her head one way, the Trueno rumbling, ready to take off. "Who wants tofu at the top of Mount. Akina at 10:00 at night?"

"Crazy people."

 _'And yet you send your daughter out to meet them,'_ Takimi was already revving up the engine. _'You're really shooting for "Father of the Year" this time, eh old man?'_ She looked back at Bunta and pursed her lips. "Remember. You promised a vacation with gas and spending money."

"Keep talking like that, and you can forget it." Her lips pursed further but she nodded and drove off with a farewell, Bunta watching right in front of the shop until the white and black car was gone. "And trust me, kid. By the end of this, that vacation is gonna be far off from your mind." He said as he snuffed out the cigarette, the last of the smoke disappearing like the car.

* * *

The mountain top at night felt so much more cold than usual. Maybe Inari was starting to have actual cold feet. Or maybe she could already sense her impending doom. The guys and Itsuki would tell her she was probably going nuts, but as it drew close to ten, she was sure that the others would be feeling like her real soon.

At almost every second, she would take a look at her wrist watch or ask one of the guys for the time. And every second that passed, her stomach wriggled and turned over more. This was madness. Crazy, even. Why did she have to go and believe that this was possible? Pinning all her hopes, her reputation, her skills, all on just one fledging of a thought that a miracle racer would pop up and save the day? Mr. Fujiwara wasn't coming. She had to accept that. All the spectators were there, the SpeedStars and RedSuns were almost done preparing, and each second drew closer to ten.

"Alright, it's time start!" Inari wanted to throw up. That would be less humiliating than what was to come. She slowly walked over to the team, gulping down what was left of her dignity, and gave a nervous smile at Kenji.

"Tag in, man." She said. Now Kenji looked ready to throw up. Inari straighten out. She needed to be the leader she was. "C'mon, man, I know you can do this! Your time almost matches mine!"

"And someone needs to race them, or else the SpeedStars will be the laughing stock of the mountains!" Itsuki's commentary was in no way helpful. Shaking off the words, Inari guided the wobbling Kenji to his 180 and followed him with the rest of the SpeedStars and Itsuki to the starting line. From his FD, Keisuke scowled.

"What? You expect me to race this loser?"

"Just ignore him," Inari squeezed Kenji's shoulder from out the window. "And calm down, Ken. You look as white as a sheet." Then again, she would be the same if she were in his state. She felt horrible for putting him up to do this.

"You gotta toughen up!" Cheered Itsuki. "Get mean, bro!"

"I'll try." Sighed the brunette. The duo's worry only escalated.

"Attention! Everyone back away from the inside of the grind rail! The race is about to start!" The man in red was cheered on by everyone there, the voices spreading out as far to the next small hills over. "We're starting the countdown!" He said, taking his position at the middle of the road, right between the two drifters. Everyone cleared out of the way and the man raised one hand. "Alright, in ten-" A blare of static interrupted him.

 _ **"Hold on, guys. Finish line here."**_ Said the scouter on the walkie-talkie the man had. **_"We got a regular car on the road, just passed us. You don't want this guy getting caught up in the race. Should we wait until it passes the mountain?"_**

"It's a public road!" Keisuke shouted from his car, growing annoyed. "What does he think was gonna happen? We'll pass this guy without any trouble, no friggin' problem! Damn."

"No, wait!" Inari ran over to the man in red, a lump forming in her throat. They might have been grasping at straws, but maybe a miracle had pulled through. "Please, hold on. Can you call back down and ask what the make of that car was? Color, speed, anything!" People were staring at her but Inari didn't care. This surprise guest meant more to her than them.

The guy in red sympathized with her. "Hey, did you guys see the make of the car that passed you?"

 ** _"Hard to tell. It went by pretty fast but I was able to notice it had some flip-up headlights. Maybe an 86? Like a Trueno?"_**

Inari squeaked. Keisuke twitched in his seat.

"Toss it," He commanded, catching the walking-talkie and calling in. "An 86? Better not be shittin' with me, man. What color was it? White?"

 _ **"What color? I don't know why it matters so much to you guys but it was black and white, right? Yeah, a panda Trueno."**_

"He actually came…" Inari sighed with relief, almost stumbling in place. Her teammates caught her before she fell. Keisuke looked pleased himself, but for his own reasons.

"Guys, let's wait until that 86 gets here." His eyes began to gleam, a sly look reflecting off his rearview mirror. "This night isn't going to be a complete waste after all." Hearing that, Inari got back on her feet and raced over to Kenji's side, grinning.

"Get outta there, man. You're not racing tonight." She said, yelping when Kenji lept at her and squeezed her tightly. She would have blushed had not her friend was trembling and smiling against her shoulder. "Geez, you crying? Not like you at all, man."

"S-Shut it. I could say the same for you, Inari."

"Hey, I'm not ashamed of it," Tears were already falling down her face. "I don't even care who wins tonight. Just as long as the race is fair and gives our team some hope." She pulled away from Kenji and wiped her face, looking positive as ever. "C'mon, we gotta get ready to greet a legend! I promised we'd cheer him on all the way. What he needs now is a proper welcome."

* * *

As Takimi sped up the mountain, she noticed all the little bundles and gatherings of people that grew larger as she got closer to the top. This was something you usually didn't see on an average night.

 _'Maybe they're all here for the tofu?'_ Fads. She would never understand them. She looked over to the back seat and saw a few wrinkles and bunched in corners on the tofu boxes. Nothing too damaging, so the tofu would still be good. _'Hope the old man packed enough, or else I'll need to spend that money he promised me on refunds… I swear I'll kick him in the gut if that's the reason why he sent me up alone.'_ Disregarding that thought, she kicked into the next gear as she drew closer to the top, not knowing that she was stealing the awed breath of hundreds of spectators. Clueless to the fact that outsiders of both Akina and Akagi were surveying her. Unaware that she was turning a legend into reality.

* * *

As she could hear the roar of a familiar engine draw close, Inari felt her pulse began to quicken, her palms becoming sweaty. This was exactly how she felt the night she first witnessed the Ghost of Akina. This kind of excitement was the proof she needed to know that things were going to be alright.

 _'Almost here. The fastest racer to ever run Akina's downhill is backing us tonight. The legend who created technique,'_ She glanced over to the Rotary Brothers, noticing the anticipation crossing the younger one's features. _'Time to show those Takahashi Brothers the real strength Akina's packing.'_

Meanwhile, Keisuke was getting excited himself, his arms crossing tightly over his chest as he smirked at the darkened road _. 'C'mon, 86. I wanna see just what kind of lunatic of a chick is driving you. Man, I haven't been this excited to race since high school!'_

Ryosuke could see the glee that was bubbling up in his brother. He would have smiled, but he was all too interested himself. _'You kept us waiting for a while,'_ He thought as the wind picked up, the currents strong and promising as something shined from the horizon on the slope. He smiled a touch. _'Don't think I'll fall for a rookie tactic like that. I got my eye on you…'_

No one knew what to expect as the panda parked right in front of the finish line. Some were expecting a hero straight out of a comic. The brothers were willing to bet that some hard-boiled, ace of a racer would pop out of the driver's seat. Inari was only hoping, waiting for Bunta to walk out of the car like he owned the place. No one expected to see a stack of white, slightly busted-up boxes marked with _Fujiwara Tofu_ in black marker being carried out. The plain, yet polite voice that accompanied them stunned everyone in the area.

"Hello?" Takimi peeked her head from behind the stack. "Fujiwara Tofu. If it's not our tofu, it's no good."

* * *

 **To Be Continued!**

 **And that's where that chapter will be left off ^^ The next chapter won't come as late as this one had, but I can't say it will come as soon since I've just started working and I've been having trouble trying to find where to watch the dubs of _Initial D_. If anyone knows some good sites, please PM me them. I'd appreciate it ^_^ Thanks so much for all of your support again, guys! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you all next time. Bye for now!**

 **This is me saying, Peace!**


	3. Race 3

**I honestly rather not talk about why this chapter is months late. Let's just say it was due to (as always) technical complications and stuff outside of writing, along with having a few to no sources of the English dub to look for references :P Ah, yes, I'd also like to say that I'll be working on two other stories I'm almost finished with but for now, I'd like to get back to this one and update as soon as I can. If any of you are still there, thanks for staying and being patient, and for also dealing with the sour attitude I have at the moment XP OK, enough talking. The next chapter needs to get rolling!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the rights over _Initial D_. All rights go to Shuichi Shigeno. All I own in the cover art.**

* * *

 **Race 3: Cinderella Drives a Trueno**

Takimi was living one of her greatest peeves: Everyone was staring at her.

"Uh," She could feel a sweat run down her neck, looking around for someone to help her out. "Someone ordered a large order of tofu, right? Ah… It's half off?" She didn't care if she had to give up some of the money Bunta promised her. The sooner she'd get out of here and wash off her anxiety, the better.

"Takimi!" Inari bolted her way over to the delivery girl, her eyes nearly as wide as her gaping mouth. "What the heck are you doing here? Where's your dad? Why are you here? What's with all the tofu?"

"G-Give me a sec here, OK?" The young girl looked jittery, the boxes she had threatening to tumble over. "I didn't even know you guys were going to be up here. And why are you asking about my dad? He's back at the house."

"What?!" Takimi nearly dropped the boxes. Once Inari saw the genuine shock in her eyes, she took a deep breath. "Sorry, girl, I didn't mean to shout. It's just… Ugh, this is not cool! Your dad was suppose to come up here! He said Akina's fastest driver would show up!"

"He did?" The honey-brunette reeled back to when she was given the deal and she almost groaned. _'Did he seriously promise Inari and these guys that? Damnit, old man, you know how much I hate this kind of attention! Everyone won't stop staring…'_ She wished she could escape but there was a possibility that she would ram all her friends down. Even she wasn't too scared out of her wits to do something like that.

Sighing, Inari shook her head and looked back to Takimi. "Look, did your dad tell you anything before coming up here? Anything at all?"

"No, he just told me what he always does, kinda; deliver all these boxes of tofu to the top of Mt. Akina and then come back home. I thought this was going to be an everyday night delivery." She replied, earning a surprised glance from her senior.

"Late-night… Takimi, just how late do you make your deliveries?" She asked, her heart nearly leaping out of her chest as the gas attendant thought for a moment.

"3:00, 4:00 am, I guess? Usually I'll get lucky and leave before then and catch up on some sleep."

The gasp thrown around the area was instantaneous, Inari looking the most surprised. _'So it wasn't her dad at all. Holy shit, my friend's the ghost!'_ shaking her head, Inari reached into her pocket and dug out her wallet, pulling out all that was in there. "Here, I'll pay for the tofu."

Takimi jolted back. "That's way more than-"

"Doesn't matter." There was a fire in the older girl's eyes, all her prayers launched at the wide-eyed driver before her. "Takimi, I want you to race for our team. I know I'm asking a lot, but I seriously need your help on this one, girl! We gotta go for broke on this one and we need Akina's fastest racer! And that's you, Takimi!"

"But I'm not even a racer."

"You say that, but you have the skills that a racer has!" Her eyes began to plead and turn glassy, making Takimi flinch. "Please, Takimi, we need you. I swear, this'll be the only time I'll ask you to do this. Just drive against them and then you can go home, head straight back as soon as it's all over if you want to. Please, Takimi. I'm begging for you!"

The 'no' was placed perfectly on her lips. Takimi would have said it without another thought, had she not remembered Inari's accident. The fear and guilt of that night rushed back to her as the older worker looked at her with every bit of a plead in her eyes. She did hope that she could pay Inari back for that one day, but she didn't expect it to be something like this. She finally gave a sigh. _'The things I do for my friends.'_

"OK."

Dark eyes lit up with joy. "You mean it?!"

"Just as long as my picture doesn't get taken." Takimi tried to laugh that out, but it only came in a nervous jab in the funny bone. She was sure that, that bone was broken the second Inari pulled her into a hug. "C-Can't breath-!" She wheezed.

"You'll be doing a lot more than breathing once you get behind that wheel," Laughing, Inari looked around the relieved smiles of her teammates before a very shocked Itsuki walked over. "She said yes, Itsuki! Isn't that great?"

"Takimi's gonna drive?!" He gasped, taking only a second to glare and wiggle his fingers. "Takimi, I'm gonna rip your ponytail clean off you! Why didn't you tell me that you were _'The Ghost of Akina'_?!"

"I'm _'The Ghost of Akina'_?"

Before the monkey-like man could latch at the delivery girl, Inari held him back. "Damnit, Itsuki, you can get mad at her later! She gotta get focused right now! She has a race to win!"

With a small growl, Itsuki looked back at his best friend. "We're _so_ gonna talk about this later."

"We'll see." Shaking her head, Takimi turned her attention back to the 86, jumping as a hand slammed right into the hood. Her eyes met with a familiar pair.

"Didn't think we'd meet at your job again."

"Same." Takimi felt her stomach twirl just as fast as her racing heart. They didn't even start racing and now at his guy was getting on her nerves? Or something like that, at least.

Keisuke felt a smirk tilt his lips. "Ryosuke and I owe you for breaking us out of our hotel last time. But don't think that losing this race for you is how I'm gonna do that." He warned.

"I already told you that you don't need to do that," Sighed Takimi, feeling her cheeks flush. She was thankful that it was pretty chilly tonight. "I didn't even want stay for this kind of thing. I'm only doing this because my friend needs me to." She explained.

"Man, you're the loyalty type, aren't you?" A blonde eyebrow rose amusedly at her silence. "You're also kinda young. Thought the ghost would be a little older, but I'm not going to complain now. Especially since I get to race the girl who beat me on some hairpins."

"That was you?" Takimi crossed her arms over her chest. "I almost didn't get enough sleep last night because of that."

"Are you kidding? You just went bat-shit crazy on those corners just to get some shut-eye?" Keisuke didn't know whether to be angry or impressed. Angry that this girl barely gave their race the time of day, or impressed that something so simple motivated her to match the skills of a pro. "You gotta be insane, but I can respect that." He finally said. "What's your name, anyway? Your uniform didn't have a name tag and I'm guessing you'd hate the nickname, 'Ghost'."

"It doesn't sound too bad," 'Ghost' shrugged before stuffing her hands in her pockets. "It's Takimi. Takimi Fujiwara."

"Takimi, huh?" Keisuke's smirk widened a bit. "Kimi it is, then." ("Please don't call me that.") "Alright, we're gonna race. Just know that I'm not gonna make the same mistakes twice." Pulling his hand away from the panda, the dirty blonde took one more look over his opponent before heading back to his FD, the people crowding them clearing away as both racers went back to their respected cars. Takimi felt her pulse pick up, and she hoped that it was nervousness from competing in this race.

* * *

Both cars were left to warm up their engines before the race began. Spectators and teams kept back and behind the road rails as the cars trembled and purred.

"Inari, this is crazy," Said one of the _SpeedStars_. "There's no way an 86 –a dinosaur like that, even –can go against an FD. And you're asking some girl who looks ready to pass out to drive, too."

"Keep complaining, and I'll switch Takimi out for you." The young man flinched at her growl, a sigh following after it. "Look, just chill, alright? I know what I'm doing. Just sit back and watch the beast that Trueno becomes," Brown eyes glided back to the black and white car, her hands tightly grasping her elbows. "Better yet, watch the beast that our friend becomes once she gets on that road." The words drove straight onto home and even Itsuki had nothing to say. All he could do was look back at the car with the others, worry for his friend and the race making him shake all over.

* * *

"Alright, we're gonna start at the count of ten!" Shouted the _RedSuns_ representative over the engines of the drift cars, the two vehicles roaring in response. From the inside of his car, Keisuke looked to his side and tried to see Takimi's outline through the tinted windows. She was just sitting there, looking completely still. Usually, kids her age –the ones who just got their licenses –would be nervous out of their minds to get right on the road. But Takimi looked completely OK. This was what was looking for, what he was waiting for. Keisuke finally felt that his search was over; He found a racer that knew what they were doing.

 _'Even if she doesn't know it herself,'_ With a smirk, the pro revved up his engine. _'Show me what you got, Kimi.'_

With a sigh, Takimi leaned back in her seat and placed her hand on the stick shift, a familiar tingle rushing through her. _'Here goes something.'_

The moment the countdown reached one, the FD took off first with the Trueno coming up behind it. A murmur passed through the crowd as both cars took off into the night, Inari and her team screaming their heads off, cheering Takimi right behind her.

* * *

The _RedSuns_ were talking amongst themselves as soon as the two cars vanished. Most of it was just how there was no way Takimi's 86 could catch up with the power that Keisuke's FD had under the hood. But Ryosuke ignored them. His senses all went to his eyes as he calculated the race's turn out then and there.

 _'The 86 has a 150 horsepower on the high-end. Lower coming off the line,'_ He thought, putting his years of knowledge to use. _'Doesn't seem to be the monster Keisuke claims… The reason why an 86 can shift so fast is because it has training gears for a rally car race, but it's also suited for shifting the tight hairpins of Akina. But even with that advantage, Keisuke has more of the experience and that girl, Fujiwara, looked too exhausted to even race. Still…'_ A smile played on Ryosuke's lips. _'Keisuke looked afraid when he told me about that small race, saying that the 86 driver was a demon. Maybe he's right. Even with a pretty face like hers, Fujiwara could be a demon the likes of which no one has ever seen. It's not the make of the car so… It must be Fujiwara herself.'_ He mused, now wishing he and Keisuke switched places.

* * *

With the Trueno barely on his tail, Keisuke eased back and shifted the gears of his car, looking ahead. _'It's go time. I don't like using the straight always to pull ahead, but it's a timed run. After this, I won't have to see that 86 in my rearview mirror ever again. Same goes for you, Kimi.'_ He thought. The roar of his car was much too loud. It was loud enough to scare some spectators, and loud enough to cover the gasps of racing fans as something crept right behind him. People who weren't at the top of the mount were for sure that _'The Ghost of Akina'_ was finally revealing itself. They couldn't actually tell that it was just a tofu delivery girl getting excited.

* * *

 _ **"What's going on?"**_ The _RedSuns_ member jumped at the voice on the walkie-talkie, his eyes caught up on what he just saw with the others.

 _ **"T-This is the first corner, it's unbelievable!"**_ He exclaimed, heads shaking with the excitement in the air. _**"The 86's line in unreal! It couldn't have been nothing more than a few centimeters by the guardrail! I-I never seen anything like it!"**_

As he passed the first corner and shifted between the simpler curves of the mountain, Keisuke spared one look at his rearview mirror. No Trueno. The smirk forming on his lips dropped though when he saw a pair of lights appearing behind him, leading the black and white panda right after him.

"What the hell?!" He muttered under his breath, trying to ignore what he just saw. "She's closing the gap! How can she be getting closer?" He dared another look into the mirror. Sure enough, Takimi was still following him, but there was still a good enough distance between them. "My head's gotta be screwin' with me. There's no way she could catch up with this much distance between us." Gritting his teeth, the second ace shifted gears along the incoming hairpins, sliding side to side with the road as it began to become curvier. At the corner of his eye, he could've almost seen a white and black paint job.

Takimi was closing in right at his side, the 86 following the FD's movements as if they were in sync. At every new corner, it looked like Takimi was just one step away from catching up with him. Keisuke had no idea what to think. His mind was going blank, just like it did when they first raced. And sure enough, he was starting to think that he was going to lose just like before.

* * *

"You gotta be kidding me," Itsuki slapped the side of his own head. "Takimi's dad used to be one of the best drift racers on Akina? That old grouch? Mr. Tofu?"

"Looks like it," Laughing a little, Inari crossed her arms as her mood seemed to be lifted a little. "And judging from what I saw a few weeks ago, Takimi's just like him. My dad told me stories about the Ghost, but I guess he was talking about Mr. Fujiwara back then. When he bought it up again, he must've been talking about Takimi, and even he didn't know it."

"Takimi and her dad," Said Itsuki in wonder. It was hard to believe that the most lax and wax-like life people he ever knew were racers on the wild road, behind the wheel of an 86 no less. Neither of them looked like they enjoyed anything fast and Takimi was like a house cat allergic to the outdoors. It almost didn't add up. "I've known Takimi since grade school and met her dad around then, too. The both of them are pretty normal enough. Well, as normal as anyone could be with running a tofu shop."

With a laugh, Inari clapped the high schooler on the back. "Guess it goes to show that you can't really tell what a person is by their looks. Mr. Fujiwara was _'The Ghost of Akina'_ and now the legacy is passed down to Takimi. Point being; if her dad sent her down here, then that must mean he knows that she's gonna win this."

"How are you so sure of that?" Asked Itsuki.

With a wink, the _SpeedStars'_ leader twirled a lock of her hair. "Considering that Takimi had raced Keisuke before and won, I think she can do it again."

"TAKIMI DID WHAT?!" Everyone looked in the direction of the gathered group of racers as they surrounded Inari. "She did that?! Our Takimi?! That was her?!"

"Definitely!" Inari was getting pumped, looking at her teammates with confidence. "Guys, you gotta look at the big picture here! Mr. Fujiwara was and probably is a good racer. His daughter must be the same if he sent her up here personally."

"I thought he tricked her into saying it was a delivery-"

"Big picture! Focus on it, guys!" She sounded like a general rallying up her army, pointing one finger to the sky. "We gotta support our friend, no matter what! She may be slow when it comes to getting the point, but I sure as Hell know that she's the fastest when she comes to racing! Come on, guys! We might actually win this!" She exclaimed, a wave of cheers echoing into the night sky.

* * *

 _'Hmm,'_ Takimi looked across her shoulder, tilting her head one way. _'It's almost like before, but he's gotten better at noticing where the hairpins are. He's just too afraid to push through them,'_ Knowing that her beach money was practically waving at her face like a dog treat, she decided she needed to get this done. Her eyes were already beginning to get heavier and she was almost worried that her father would have forgotten this race and used the promise money for his 'business trips'. She wanted to go home as soon as possible now. _'Guess I better show him that they aren't that scary as they look.'_ She mused, her hands and feet falling into a familiar dance.

Straight always and corners just seemed to vanish out completely from the young Fujiwara. As her breath matched the exhale of the exhaust pipe, her vision changed. Mt. Akina was slowly becoming a land of sand before her, an abyss of blue crowing over it with the sun. White seagulls flew around the area and the idle sounds of people walking along a boardwalk echoed in her ears. Her next breath was full of sea salt and warm cement, her throat drying up from the sun that wasn't there. Her mind was off in another world, on a whole different plane. Takimi had reached a whole different level than anyone. She had transformed right before their eyes.

Someone from outside was watching, nearly impressed. He wouldn't show it since it would only douse the ego in him, but that didn't mean he couldn't voice it out.

"Not bad. A little risky, but that clunker managed to pull it off," As the 86 passed another hairpin, he pushed aside his black hair as the guys with him watched on in surprise. "No, not that car, but the driver. Whoever has their hands on the wheel of that 86 is either the bravest or dumbest racer I've ever seen," He turned away from his comrades and the race as he made his way back to his own, sleek-black car. As he started up the engine, his thoughts went back to the Trueno. _'Now I have something to look forward to. Whoever you are, "Ghost," you better enjoy that pedestal you have over Akina while you can. Because I'm gonna be the one dethroning you. Get ready to face the leader of the **Myogi NightKids** ; Takeshi Nakazato.'_ His Skyline gave a growl as it drove away from the race, leaving black tracks in its wake.

* * *

 _ **"Finish line here. I can hear the engines getting close!"**_ Everyone held their breath as they waited for the results, their ears straining as if they could hear the sound of thundering wheels charging down the mountain. _**"Here they are! In the lead, it's… It's the 86! What the Hell?!"**_ Their eyes weren't playing tricks on them down there. As sure as the car was old, the black and white panda crossed the finish line with the FD pulling just behind it. **"** _ **It's the 86! The 86 won! Keisuke lost!"**_

From on top of the mountain, the _SpeedStars_ and Itsuki cheered and cried tears of joy, hugging and jumping in the air with excitement. "She did it! Takimi did it!" Sobbed Inari happily, jumping and hugging Itsuki and Kenji.

"That was my best friend! My best friend destroyed one of the Rotary Brothers!" Howled Itsuki.

Inari cried onto his shoulder, squeezing him as a jubilant spark raced through her whole body. "I'm bawling, man! This is the greatest day ever! I swear, I've never been this happy! I still can't believe that she did it." She sniffled. Kenji nudged her head with his own with a smile.

"Quit crying, Inari! You gotta be happy!"

"I am, bastard!" With a cry mixed with a laugh, she released the pair and wiped her face. "No joke, Takimi's the real winner of this whole race. Next time I see her, we're celebrating. All of us! For her win, and for her _SpeedStars_ initiation!" She hollered over her cheering team.

"Yeah! We can get pointers from her and everything if she joins!"

"Don't forget to stick the team's logo on her bumper!"

"I have to do that! You gotta let me! I've known her longer!"

"Tonight's race was a lost on our team's part," The representative and a _RedSuns_ member looked away from the _SpeedStars_ and to Ryosuke. "Let's own up to it with some class." He said as he started to walk away.

"How about the time for our run of the uphill?" Asked the representative. "We still have that." He pointed out, trying to cushion the blow of their loss. Ryosuke wasn't having it.

"The uphill means nothing at this point."

"By tomorrow, rumors will be spread to all the racers in the local areas about this. It won't be long before everyone knows that the undefeated _RedSuns_ lost to an 86 from Akina."

Ryosuke looked over his shoulder with a knowing glint in his eyes. "I guess that means we're going to have to even the score soon. And we'll do it with my FC." He declared, walking away from his confused teammates, the cheering _SpeedStars_ , and the screaming fans that followed his every steps. He got to his car and drove all the way to the bottom, finding Keisuke's FD parked by one of the bus stops. He stepped out of his car and walked over to the blonde, looking around.

"Fujiwara left?"

"Who?" It took Keisuke a few seconds to shake off whatever he was thinking before, then nod. "Yeah, she left. Didn't even stop for a water break or anything. She just kept driving." He sighed and looked at his hands. "Damn, I feel pissed. She didn't even stop to gloat or anything."

"You wanted her to gloat?"

The younger brother shrugged. "It's better than her just treating the win like it was nothing."

 _'You mean her treating you like you're nothing.'_ Ryosuke thought. He never seen Keisuke look so oddly frustrated yet relaxed at the same time. It was almost scary. Then again, he did lose twice to this girl. That race must have been something else. If only he had gotten the entire run through with the FD itself. "Did you see anything different from the last race you had?" He asked. At Keisuke's nod, he said, "Show me."

It took a small ride back up the mountain, but the two steels on wheels made it to the one spot Keisuke remembered. Parking together, the two brothers walked over to a gaping yet sharp hairpin that split between uphill and downhill, a few trees boarding past the guardrail.

"Right here," Confirmed Keisuke. "This is where she passed me. It makes no sense, Ryo. Her car sucks at riding those corners, so how'd it slip faster than my FD?" He asked as his brother inspected the area, his fingers touching the ground and then the guardrail. "It was the weirdest shit, Ryo. One minute, I'm cranking up the horsepower and have her only centimeters away from me. The next second, there's this weird scraping noise and then like that, she's right in front of me. I swear, that girl was unreal."

Ryosuke was quiet the whole time, looking at the entire scene and hearing all his little brother had to say before he got up and looked downhill. "I think I get it now."

"What?" Bright eyes blinked in shock. "Get what?"

"How you lost," Without missing a beat in his words, the dark-haired racer pointed at the snake-like trench planted in-between the guardrail of the mountain floor. "She dropped her inside wheels into the drainage ditch on purpose. By hooking the edge of the road, Fujiwara resisted the syntactical force. That way it was possible to gain more corner control than the tires could grip on their own." Ryosuke almost smiled. "It might seem like an amateurish solution, maybe even a little bit ridiculous, and it goes without saying that she would have failed to do this perfectly, had she not done it before. Despite what we thought of her before, I think it's safe to assume that Fujiwara's done this for a very long time, years of training if we want to give her more credit."

"So she might be a pro?" Keisuke looked at the dark road that led downhill, too. "She said nothing about that, though. Even back at the hotel, I didn't see that 86 in sight. Damnit, if I'd know-"

"Even that bit of knowledge wouldn't have helped us," Reminded the elder brother. "Remember, the exciting part of racing is that these sort of things happen –unexpected things. If you're like me, it's been a long time since I've ever been excited about one of our potential targets."Ryosuke barely missed the stupefied look on the blonde's face. "Surprised?"

"just been a while since I seen you like this," Replied the younger racer as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You talk a lot of fancy speech about the opponents we come across, but this is the most you went on and on about Kimi, Ryo."

"Kimi? Oh, yes, Fujiwara. Good nickname," Ryosuke didn't look that impressed, though. "Well, perhaps she sparked some interest to me more than others have."

"... You think she's cute?"

"Beg pardon?"

"I didn't stutter, big brother."

The two brothers met in a deadlock of barely visible glares, a few sparks flying between them. It had been a while since they fought over the same thing.

"We're going to have to cancel the expedition we had planned for next weekend." Said the o,dear brother after a long time, breaking the silent fuel. "We're not moving onto anything until we can lock down a complete victory here," Challenging green met sharp, unwavering blue. "I'm going to be the one to beat the 86." There was another meaning to that, that neither of them wanted to admit.

* * *

As Bunta flipped onto the next page of his usual paper, he could hear the sound of a rumbling car closing in on his shop. He didn't bother to look up as lights flashed pass the door that led to the garage and the sound of sneakers entering the household. Only two people ever lived in this place after all, and he was already there. A light slap on the table got his attention, however.

His daughter looked as threatening as a rabbit. She had his sleepy-looking eyes and straight-lined mouth, and thanks to her mother's looks, she was able to pull off a slightly-angry pout. He almost thought she looked cute. "Why'd you lie to me?"

"Did you make the delivery?"

"I'm not talking about the tofu here, I mean-"

"Well I am talking about it, and that's what I want to know about. Did you make the delivery or not?"

Takimi held back a tired sigh. Did her father always had to be this stubborn? "Yes, here." She removed her hand, showing the money and signed receipt. "I did. Inari signed it and everything. But then I had to race down the mountain and go against this guy-"

"Did you win the race?"

"Yeah, but I bet you knew I would or something, right?" She huffed, knowing that she wasn't going to get a straight answer. Pushing herself back up, she toed off her shoes and picked them up, shaking her head as she headed up her room. "I'm going to bed. Remember our promise." Knowing that she wasn't going to get a response –which frustrated her a little more –she went up to her room to calm down and sleep.

Bunta read his paper a little longer before he finally put it down and shuffled the money through his fingers. After counting, he took out a quarter of it and slipped it into the envelope that had Takimi's reward. "A little extra might make her a bit more grateful," He thought, going back to his newspaper. "Can't say I'm surprised that she won but… Weirdly enough, I feel a little happy." Was that pride swelling in his heart? He couldn't tell. All he knew was that his only child had just jumped over the first hurdle of the rest of her life.

* * *

"Let's get another round of milkshakes right here! C'mon, keep them coming!"

"Lot of chocolate mixes on this round, too, please!"

"Takimi," The girl in question could tell that Miss. Hana was already looking annoyed. "As much as I love the good profit those kids are bringing, could you be a dear and ask them to quiet down a little? A few of the other customers are starting to complain." Said the plump woman as she handed Takimi a full tray of milkshakes.

"I'll try," Said the brown-eyed waitress, going around the counter top and placing the tray at the _SpeedStars'_ table. "Seriously, guys, you gotta ease up on the noise here. You've been celebrating all afternoon." It was the day right after the race and everyone was still pumped and talking about it. While Takimi almost understood why it was so important and she was grateful that her friends didn't send her name through the crowds, their celebrating streak was getting a little extreme.

"Can't help it, but we'll try, Takimi," Inari took a vanilla shake and sipped half of it down. "Why don't you sit down with us? This is your celebrating party, after all!" She giggled.

"Maybe in a while. I'm still on my shift." Replied Takimi as she took a platter from the table. "Hand over your empty cups, would you?"

"Let me help you with that, my besets friend!" Itsuki already had a few glasses in his hands, looking like a child who had just met his favorite comic book hero. "Come on! We'll talk about all your cool racing skills on the way!" He said as he hurried the working girl back to the kitchen.

"I don't have super racing skills. Get a grip…" Their voices faded away as they headed to the back, Inari and Kenji sharing a look and a shrug before they clicked their glasses together.

"Hey, Takimi, let me ask you something for real this time, though," Said Itsuki as the two of them left the platter by the kitchen. The two of them now stood in the hallway at the back of the café. Takimi wanted to get a little breathing space away from the others. "Did you learn how to drive because of those deliveries you made for your dad? How long has that be going on?"

Takimi had to think on that for a moment. She actually hadn't kept track on how long she'd been driving. "Since… Middle school, I guess?"

"Since then?!" Itsuki exclaimed. "And you never even told me?!"

"Shh!" Takimi gave a firm look. "Loose lips sink ships, Itsuki. If anyone knew that some middle schooler was driving around at night, my old man would get into some trouble." She pointed out.

"Crap, I guess you're right," Her pudgy friend sighed, following after her as they headed back to the table. "Still, I didn't know you cared for your dad that much, man. You guys barely say anything to each other whenever I'm at your place and I don't actually see you guys get along."

"We actually do get along." The secret racer told him as Takimi stopped by the counter to look over the new tables there. "Well, sometimes my old man might get me frustrated sometimes but, well… I don't dislike him, to say the least." She said. Come to think of it, even when Bunta had forced her to start driving for the family business, she didn't hate her father. Unless there was a very bad and traumatic reason involved, Takimi couldn't actually hate or get mad at Bunta. Maybe it didn't look that way to others, but deep down, Takimi respected and loved her father. And she almost hoped that he was the same.

"Takimi, table #12 needs to have their orders made!"

"Got it, Miss. Hana!" Fixing her skirt, Takimi whipped out her pen and pocket notebook and gave a light wave to her friend. "We'll talk about this later, OK?" She told her childhood friend as she headed over to the table, stopping the moment she came there. "Oh… Can I help you guys?"

The Rotary Brothers looked up, their faces almost matching the surprised one that Takimi wore then. One could say that they were shocked that she could pull off a face like that. But on the inside, they were almost overjoyed, but they hid it very well. Keisuke couldn't help but let his eyes travel up and down the peach and yellow uniform on the winner of their last race. She really looked cute with it and her hair in a bun.

Ryosuke caught his cool fairly quickly, despite seeming to be under the same spell as Keisuke. "Yes," He cleared his throat. "I'll have an ice tea, please. No lemon."

"I'd ordered a rematch but I doubt that you would give me that, huh, Kimi?" Asked Keisuke with a little bit of jealousy in his voice. He couldn't had helped it. The 86 driver had not only beaten him once, but twice. It was still hitting him hard. Still, that bit of jealousy was also being pushed down by how adorable Takimi looked. He wasn't ashamed to admit that part, though. He was a guy, and girls were cute to him, even plain Janes who dolled up like Takimi. "I'll have some cola."

"Right," Takimi jolted them down, trying not to remind Keisuke that her name wasn't 'Kimi'. It would have been a waste of time. Even if the nickname made her feel embarrassed. "Is there anything else you guys want?"

"Actually, there is, if you would be willing," Takimi looked at Ryosuke as he stood, that charming smiling on his face making her look the other way. A boy had never looked at her like that before, so it was all so new. "You performed well against Keisuke the other night. I had my doubts about you, Fujiwara, but it looks like I missed seeing something incredible from just being outside the car. Well, I wish to change that," He took one step to be in the young girl's line of vision. "Would it be possible if I could accompany you this Friday for a drive around Akina?"

"A drive?" Takimi looked at him, feeling her face heat up faster than the burgers on the café's grill. "With me?" She knew she sounded like a child who was promised a sack of candy but even she couldn't deny that what oddly sounded like a date made her embarrassed. Especially when it came from a handsome guy like Ryosuke. She was brave enough to admit that both the brothers were good-looking. The only difference was that Ryosuke had the mature looks while Keisuke had the boyish-rugged looks.

"Hey, when was this agreed?" Keisuke stood up, his jealousy now aimed at his own brother. "If anyone's taking a drive with her, it'll be me. I'm the one she raced first, Ryo."

"You were also the one who lost to her. Sometimes you have to share, _little brother_." Keisuke gritted his teeth at the almost smug look Ryosuke had.

" _I_ don't like sharing."

"Takimi!" Inari was at the brunette's side in a heartbeat with Itsuki, the both of them looking in-between the Takahashis. "Girl, are the two hottest and best racers in Akagi fighting over over you? Holy shit, that's so cool!" She whispered excitedly. Takimi shook her head, trying to deny the whole thing.

"I-It's not like that-!"

"Then it's settled?"

"Fine, but I don't like it."

Takimi whipped her head back to the brothers. "What was just agreed?"

"We'll both go on a drive with you," Said Ryosuke casually. Takimi squeaked. "That way we'll both have a chance to see how well of a driver you are on the inside rather than watching from the outside." He explained. A wave of relief passed through the poor girl, nodding a few times as she looked at the ground. Oddly enough, if she was glad that this wasn't something as drastic as a love triangle, why'd she almost feel disappointed?

"Hey, I gotta get in on this, too," Inari cut in, swinging one arm around Takimi's shoulders. "Takimi's my pal and I've never see her drive up close. I'm coming along."

"Me, too!" Beamed Itsuki from behind. Beating them was one thing, but to actually get up-close and personal with the famous Takahashi brothers was like a dream come true.

"Seriously? We don't need all these sort of people tagging along." Keisuke muttered.

"Perhaps it'll make more the difference, Keisuke," Said Ryosuke. "Fujiwara might be more comfortable with good friends nearby. It never hurts to test this out."

Or it would and just more people would cramp his style. But the blonde didn't say that, especially not in front of Takimi. After what she just witness with him and Ryosuke and with her second win against him, he didn't want her thinking any more little of him than he already was. His pride as a racer and a man couldn't take that. And personally, he just didn't want Takimi to think of him so lamely.

While all this commotion and planning was going on, Takimi could only sigh as she ruffled the skirt of her apron. "I didn't even agree to any of this." But no one paid her no mind, as usual.

* * *

 ** _To Be Continued!_**

 ** _To be fairly honest guys, I'm not exactly sure if this chapter was too satisfying or worthy for you but I put in my best effort to put in enough content and entertainment to keep you guys busy while I work on the next chapter. Hopefully, my laptop will be up and working again and I could use that to write instead of my IPad. Because honestly, typing on it is pretty annoying XP OK! Next chapter will be up by next week most likely so make sure to keep an eye out for it. Thanks for all your support and I'll see you guys later!_**

 ** _This is me saying, Peace!_**


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